Audio/video device with viewer

ABSTRACT

An audio/video (A/V) device may include or accommodate a viewer through a barrier. For example, an A/V device may include a first component for installation on an exterior surface of a door, a second component for installation on an interior surface of the door, a viewer that extends through an opening in the door, and a flexible connector that electrically couples the first component and the second component. The A/V device may enable use of an existing hole in the door as part of a door viewer, while also providing the functionality of an A/V device. For example, the A/V device may be configured to receive an input using a button on the first component, generate image data using a camera on the first component, and send the image data to a network device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/218,920, filed on Dec. 13, 2018, titled “AUDIO/VIDEO DEVICE WITHVIEWER,” which claims priority to U.S. Patent Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/675,141, filed on May 22, 2018, the entire contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Home security is a concern for many homeowners and renters. Thoseseeking to protect or monitor their homes often wish to have video andaudio communications with visitors, for example, those visiting anexternal door or entryway. A/V devices provide this functionality, andcan also aid in crime detection and prevention. For example, audioand/or video captured by an A/V device can be uploaded to the cloud andrecorded on a remote server. Subsequent review of the audio and/or videocan aid law enforcement in capturing perpetrators of home burglaries andother crimes. Further, the presence of one or more A/V devices on theexterior of a home acts as a powerful deterrent against would-beburglars.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various embodiments of the present audio/video (A/V) device with aviewer now will be discussed in detail with an emphasis on highlightingthe advantageous features. These embodiments depict the novel andnon-obvious A/V device with a viewer shown in the accompanying drawings,which are for illustrative purposes only. These drawings include thefollowing figures, in which like numerals indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example architecture in which an A/Vdevice with a viewer may be implemented, according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system forcommunicating in a network, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an A/V device, according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A-4D are functional block diagrams illustrating exampleembodiments of an A/V device, according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating one example embodimentof a backend device, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating one example embodimentof a smart-home hub device, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 7A-7C are exploded side views of an example A/V device with aviewer, according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of an example viewer connected to afastener and a second lens, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9A is a side view of the example viewer of FIG. 8 detached fromother elements, according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of the viewer of FIG. 9A taken alongthe line 9B-9B in FIG. 9A, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10A is a side perspective view of an example second lens that mayattach to an end of the viewer of FIG. 8, according to various aspectsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 10B is a side perspective view of an example fastener that mayattach to an end of the viewer of FIG. 8, according to various aspectsof the present disclosure;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are front views of a first component of a A/V devicewith a viewer of FIGS. 7A-7C, according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are top and side views, respectively, illustratingtabs for installing the A/V device with a viewer of FIGS. 7A-7C,according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13A is a front view of a second component of the A/V device with aviewer of FIGS. 7A-7C and including a cover disposed over a fastener,according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13B is a front view of the second component of FIG. 13A with thecover removed, according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14A is a rear perspective view of a second component of another A/Vdevice with a viewer and showing a portion of a housing of the secondcomponent removed, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14B is a rear perspective view of the second component of FIG. 14Awithout a coupler, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14C is a rear perspective view of the second component of FIG. 13Awith a fastener, according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a rear perspective view of the second component of FIG. 13Awith a portion of a housing of the second component removed, accordingto various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a side perspective view of an example service loop of acoupler, according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a side partial cross-sectional view of the second componentof FIG. 13A including another example service loop of a coupler securedwithin a rear portion of the second component, according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 18A-18B are perspective views of a portion of the A/V device witha viewer of FIGS. 7A-7C, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 19A is a front view illustrating an example of a second componentof the A/V device of FIGS. 7A-7C, according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 19B is a side perspective view illustrating an example of thesecond component of the A/V device of FIG. 19A with a portion removed,according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19C is a side perspective view illustrating an example of thesecond component of the A/V device of FIG. 19B with a portion removed,according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19D is a side perspective view illustrating an example flexibleconnector, a connector holder, and a tab, according to various aspectsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 19E is a rear perspective view illustrating the example flexibleconnector, the connector holder, and the tab of FIG. 19D, according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19F is a front view illustrating an example tab, according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19G is a side view illustrating an example connector holder,according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19H is a rear perspective view of the example connector holder ofFIG. 19G, according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19I is a detail perspective view of a channel of the secondcomponent of the A/V device of FIG. 19A taken from a first exampleperspective, according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19J is a detail perspective view of a channel of the secondcomponent of the A/V device of FIG. 19A taken from a second exampleperspective, according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19K is a side view illustrating the example connector holder ofFIG. 19G inserted within an opening in a tubular member, according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19L is a side view illustrating the example connector holder ofFIG. 19G removed from a tubular member, according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 19M is a side perspective view of the A/V device of FIG. 19A withan example flexible connector attached between the first component andthe second component, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 20 is side perspective view of an example fastener that attaches tothe viewer of FIG. 8, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 21 is a side view of the A/V device with a viewer of FIGS. 7A-7Cimplemented with a beam splitter, according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 22 and 23 are flowcharts illustrating example processes forproviding image data, audio data, and/or a notification regardingmotion, vibration, movement, and/or a change in orientation at an A/Vdevice, according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a signal diagram of a process for streaming and/or storingA/V content from an A/V device, according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a signal diagram of a process for initiating avideo-on-demand session for A/V content from an A/V device, according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram of a client device on which thepresent embodiments may be implemented, according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented, according tovarious aspects of present disclosure; and

FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for installingvarious embodiments of the present A/V devices, according to variousaspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments of the present audio/video (A/V) device with aviewer have several features, no single one of which is solelyresponsible for their desirable attributes. Without limiting the scopeof the present embodiments as expressed by the claims that follow, theirmore prominent features now will be discussed briefly. After consideringthis discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled“Detailed Description,” one will understand how the features of thepresent embodiments provide the advantages described herein.

One aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization that A/Vdevices, such as A/V doorbells, depending on the orientation of anentryway to a structure, may not provide as useful a field of view to auser as desired. For example, wiring on a house may require an A/Vdevice to be installed at a location that is not ideal for capturingvideo, such as on a surface perpendicular to the door, at a locationthat is relatively low, in a corner, etc., thereby limiting the field ofview of the A/V device, which may ultimately decrease the effectivenessof the A/V device. As another example, an A/V device that is installedoutside on a front porch of a house may be required to communicate witha device within the house through an exterior wall of the house, whichmay obstruct or otherwise diminish the wireless communication.

Another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization thatsome users, especially users renting their residences, may not want topermanently mount an A/V device to a wall of the property to avoidcausing damage (e.g., drilling holes, leaving adhesive residue, etc.)that may require the user to repair and/or pay for the damage. Suchusers may therefore be less inclined to install an A/V device, therebyremoving the added security that the A/V device could provide to theuser.

Another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization thatelectrical connectors that are used to connect devices, such as wiresand/or flex printed circuit boards, are fragile and may be damaged whenconnecting devices. For example, an electrical connector that is fedfrom one side of a barrier to the other side of the barrier through anopening in the barrier may be damaged if the electrical connector isbent or otherwise moved in a manner that damages the electricalconnector.

Another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization thatA/V devices that are mountable on a barrier do not preserve the existingviewer that extends though an opening in the barrier. For example, A/Vdevices mountable on a barrier typically include a camera that ispositioned within, or at the inside end of, the opening in the barrier.Such A/V devices thus prevent a user from looking through the viewer.

The present embodiments solve these problems by, for example, providingan A/V device that includes or accommodates a viewer through a barrier.The A/V device may be attached to, or around, an opening in the barrier,such as an existing hole where a door viewer was installed. For example,an A/V device may include a first component for installation on anexterior surface of a door, a second component for installation on aninterior surface of the door, and a viewer that extends through theopening in the door to enable use of the existing hole as a door viewer,while also providing the functionality of an A/V device. In examples, aflexible connector may be installed in the opening to electricallyconnect the first component to the second component. For example, theflexible connector may be attached to the viewer during installation andinserted through the opening, such as from the exterior side of thedoor. Once inserted, the flexible connector (e.g., a coupler) may beconnected to the second component on the interior side of the door.Although, in other examples, the A/V device may be installed in adifferent manner. The first component, the second component, and/or theviewer may include passages and/or lenses to enable a user to viewthrough the barrier (e.g., as a door viewer). In examples, the A/Vdevice may include some features within the first component and somefeatures within the second component. For example, a camera, a motionsensor, a button, etc. may be part of the first component on theexterior of the door, while a wireless transceiver, a battery, etc. maybe part of the second component on the interior of the door, although inother examples the elements may be partitioned differently.

In some examples, by enabling installation of an A/V device through anopening in a barrier, such as an existing opening, an A/V device may beinstalled in an efficient manner without marking or damaging the barrier(e.g., in a manner that preserves an existing opening in the barrier).For example, the A/V device may include a viewer that enables a firstcomponent and a second component to be connected on separate sides ofthe barrier through the opening and/or enables installation of aflexible connector to connect the first and second components withoutdamaging the flexible connector. In addition, the A/V device may have abetter field of view of an environment (e.g., positioned at eye level,positioned at a door where people enter, etc.), in comparison towall-mounted A/V devices, such as A/V doorbells. Moreover, the A/Vdevice may provide various functionality, such as receiving inputthrough a button, capturing image data, detecting motion, etc., while atthe same time enabling a user to maintain use of a door viewer when theuser is physically present at his or her door. Additionally, in exampleswhere a wireless transceiver is positioned in a component of an A/Vdevice that is installed on an interior surface of a door, the A/Vdevice may provide better wireless connectivity (e.g., because anexterior wall, door, or other barrier may not obstruct a wirelesstransceiver from receiving signals on a local network). Accordingly, thepresent embodiments provide an A/V device that is easier to install anduse, more reliable, and provides more efficient wireless communication,thereby increasing its usage and effectiveness, and ultimately enhancingthe safety and security of people associated with the property, theproperty itself, and/or the surrounding neighborhood.

In a non-limiting illustration, an A/V device includes a first componentconfigured for installation on an exterior surface of a barrier, such asa door, wall, window, gate, etc. The A/V device also includes a secondcomponent configured for installation on an interior surface of thebarrier. In some examples, the A/V device includes a viewer to connectthe first component to the second component. In other examples, thefirst component and/or the second component may attach to the barrierwithout the viewer (e.g., with a fastener, adhesive, etc.). The viewermay be installed within an opening in the barrier. The A/V device mayalso include a flexible connector that electrically couples and/orcommunicatively couples the first component to the second component. Theflexible connector may extend from the first component to the secondcomponent through the opening in the barrier and, in examples where theA/V device includes the viewer, the flexible connector may extendthrough the barrier in addition to the viewer. In examples where boththe flexible connector and the viewer extend through the opening in thebarrier, the viewer may include a first portion of the exterior surfacethat is circular, and a second potion of the exterior surface that isflat, where the second portion that is flat provides space within theopening in the barrier for the flexible connector to extend through(e.g., when the flexible connector is a flex printed circuit board).

The viewer may include a passage extending between a first end of theviewer and a second end of the viewer along a first longitudinal axis ofthe viewer. In some examples, the viewer has an elongated tubular shapeor other shape configured for installation within the opening in thebarrier. In some examples, the viewer also includes a lens disposedwithin the passage. The viewer may be part of the first component and/orthe second component, or may be a separate element configured to attachto the first component, the second component, and/or the opening in thebarrier.

The first component may include a first housing having a first frontsurface spaced from the exterior surface of the barrier and a first rearsurface abutting the exterior surface and opposite the first frontsurface. The first housing may also include a first opening extendingfrom the first rear surface into the first housing toward the firstfront surface. The first opening may include a second longitudinal axisthat, when the A/V device is installed on the barrier, is substantiallyaligned with the first longitudinal axis of the viewer. The firstcomponent may also include a lens proximate the first front surface,such as a fisheye lens, another wide-angle lens (e.g., angle above athreshold), or any other type of lens. The lens of the first componentand/or the lens of the viewer may be aligned to comprise a door viewer(e.g., to enable a user to see through the barrier). In some examples,the first component includes a camera, a microphone, a button, and/or amotion sensor.

The second component may include a second housing having a second frontsurface abutting the interior surface of the barrier and a second rearsurface spaced from the interior surface and opposite the second frontsurface. The second housing may also have a second opening extendingfrom the second rear surface into the second housing toward the secondfront surface. The second opening may have a third longitudinal axisthat, when the A/V device is installed on the barrier, is substantiallyaligned with the first longitudinal axis of the viewer. In someexamples, the second housing has a cover proximate the second frontsurface, such as a transparent or semi-transparent cover. In someexamples, the second component includes a wireless transceiver and/or abattery to provide power to the first component and/or the secondcomponent (e.g., via the flexible connector).

The A/V device may include a connector holder to assist in attaching theflexible connector to the second component. For example, the connectorholder may have a first portion that extends in a first direction and asecond portion that extends from the first portion such that the secondportion extends in a second direction transverse to the first direction.In examples, an outer shape of the second portion may correspond to aninner shape of a passage of the viewer. The connector holder may retainat least a portion of the flexible connector, such as a coupler on oneend of the flexible connector. During installation, the connector holder(which is attached to the coupler of the flexible connector) may beplaced within the passage of the viewer and the combined components maybe inserted through an opening in the barrier, such as from an exteriorside to an interior side of the barrier. Once inserted, the connectorholder may be removed from the passage and attached to a first end of achannel within the second component. The first end of the channel mayinclude a connection port to connect to the coupler of the flexibleconnector. In examples, the flexible connector may be looped around atab, and the tab may be pulled to remove excess length in the flexibleconnector that may be due to different thicknesses of barriers. The tabmay be attached to a second end of the channel to maintain the excesslength of the flexible connector in a tightened state. In examples, thechannel may include an undercut to engage a detent on the tab (e.g., toenable a friction fit engagement).

The first component and/or the second component of the A/V device mayinclude one or more processors and/or memory to enable variousfunctionality. In examples, the camera and/or the microphone that ispositioned on the first component (e.g., an exterior of the barrier) maygenerate image data and/or audio data when motion is detected by the A/Vdevice. Motion may be detected in a variety of ways, such as by thecamera, by the motion sensor, by an additional sensor included in thefirst component and/or the second component (e.g., an accelerometer, agyroscope, and/or a magnetometer), etc. The wireless transceiver maysend the image data and/or the audio data (and/or a notificationregarding such data) to a network device, a client device, or any otherdevice. The notification may inform a user associated with the A/Vdevice, another entity, an application, etc. of motion at the A/Vdevice.

In examples, the A/V device may include an additional sensor, besidesthe motion sensor, in the first component and/or the second component.The additional sensor may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, amagnetometer, etc. Based on data from the additional sensor, the A/Vdevice may detect more than a threshold amount of movement or vibrationof the A/V device, detect a change to an orientation of the A/V device,etc. These conditions may indicate that a person or object has contactedor moved the barrier to which the A/V device is attached (e.g., a userhas knocked on a door, a user or intruder is opening or closing thedoor, etc.). In response, the camera may capture image data and/or themicrophone may generate audio data. Further, the A/V device may send anotification regarding such movement or vibration to a network device, aclient device, and/or any other device. As yet another example, the A/Vdevice may cause a speaker(s) to output audio. The speaker(s) may beincluded within the first component and/or the second component, or maybe included in a device that is separate from the A/V device, such as adoorbell signaling device. The A/V device may cause the speaker(s) tooutput audio when the A/V device detects motion, movement or vibration,a change in an orientation of the A/V device, etc. In yet otherexamples, the A/V device may perform a multitude of other operations.

Although various elements are discussed as being included within aparticular component, the elements may be included or arrangeddifferently. For example, in the above description, the camera, themicrophone, the button, the motion sensor, the battery, the wirelesstransceiver, the one or more processors, and/or the memory may beincluded in any of the first component, the second component, theviewer, and/or the flexible connector.

In another non-limiting illustration, an A/V device divides light froman opening in a barrier into two paths. One path may be used to captureimage data with a camera and the other path may be used as a doorviewer. In particular, in this illustration, the A/V device includes afirst component configured for installation on an exterior surface ofthe barrier and a second component configured for installation on aninterior surface of the barrier. The first component and the secondcomponent may be aligned to the opening in the barrier. In someexamples, the A/V device includes a viewer to connect the firstcomponent to the second component. In other examples, the firstcomponent and/or the second component may attach to the barrier withoutthe viewer. The second component includes a beam splitter to split lightreceived through the opening in the barrier. The beam splitter may splitthe light into a first beam of light and a second beam of light. Thesecond component may include a camera aligned to receive the first beamof light. The camera may capture image data from the first beam oflight. The second component may also include an additional lens toreceive the second beam of light. The additional lens may comprise adoor viewer to enable a user to see through the barrier.

Another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization thatit is often difficult to determine if a person is knocking on a door. Insome examples, people may not recognize a location of a doorbell, or,when the doorbell is an A/V doorbell, the people may not understand howto operate the A/V doorbell and, as a result, may knock on the door.However, a person that knocks on a door may not be heard within aproperty (e.g., a home) due to, for example, insufficient force appliedwhen knocking, noise within the home, a location of the home's occupantsbeing too far from the door, etc. As such, people within the home maynot be informed that someone is at the door. Further, yet another aspectof the present embodiments includes the realization that doors are oftenopened or closed without users being notified. Door sensors of securitysystems may be implemented to account for door breaches, but doorsensors also may require a smart-home hub device, or another homesecurity type device, to allow the signal from the door sensor to reachthe user. However, not all users have home security systems, orsmart-home hub devices, installed at their houses.

The present embodiments solve these problems by, for example, providingan A/V device that detects movement and/or vibration on a barrier. Forexample, an A/V device may be configured for installation on a door. TheA/V device may include a sensor, such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope,or a magnetometer. The sensor may be used to detect movement and/orvibration of the door. In response, the A/V device may capture imagedata and send the image data to a network device, a client device, orany other device. Additionally, or alternatively, the A/V device maysend a notification regarding the movement and/or vibration to thenetwork device, the client device, or any other device. The notificationmay inform a user about activity occurring at the door without therequirement that the user have a home security system installed.Accordingly, the present embodiments provide an A/V device that providesmore efficient notifications regarding activity at a barrier, therebyincreasing its usage and effectiveness, and ultimately, enhancing thesafety and security of people associated with the property, the propertyitself, and/or the surrounding neighborhood.

The remaining detailed description describes the present embodimentswith reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numbers labelelements of the present embodiments. These reference numbers arereproduced below in connection with the discussion of the correspondingdrawing features.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example environment 100 in whichvarious aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented. Inparticular, the environment 100 includes an A/V device 102 attached to adoor 104 of a house 106. The A/V device 102 may include a firstcomponent 102(A) (also referred to as “exterior component 102(A)”) formounting on an exterior surface of the door 104 and a second component102(B) (also referred to as “interior component 102(B)”) for mounting onan interior surface of the door 104. In some examples, the A/V device102 may also include a third component 102(C) (also referred to as“viewer 102(C)”) that extends through an opening in the door 104, suchas a preexisting hole for a door viewer or a newly created hole for theA/V device 102. In some examples, the A/V device 102 may replace a doorviewer installed in the door 104 or attach around an existing doorviewer. As such, the A/V device 102 may include, or be associated with,a door viewer to enable a user 108 inside the house 106 to view a user110 outside the house 106 and/or any other things outside the house 106within a field of view (FOV) of the door viewer (which FOV may beexpanded, in some examples, using a wide-angle lens, a fish eye lens, orthe like). The A/V device 102 may communicate with a hub device 112, abackend server 114, a first signaling device 116, a second signalingdevice 118, and/or any other device directly (wirelessly or over a wiredconnection) and/or via one or more networks 120 and/or network devices(e.g., the smart-home hub device 112, the backend server 114, etc.).

In the example of FIG. 1, the exterior component 102(A) of the A/Vdevice 102 includes a button 122, a camera 124, a lens 126, a microphone128, a speaker 129, and a sensor 130. The button 122 may be pressed,such as by the user 110, to activate at least one of the first signalingdevice 116 and the second signaling device 118. The camera 124 maycapture image data representative of a FOV for the camera 124. The lens126 may comprise a fisheye lens or any other lens. The microphone 128may generate audio data. The sensor 130 may include an accelerometer, agyroscope, a magnetometer, and/or a glass break detector. In the exampleof FIG. 1, the interior component 102(B) includes a wireless transceiver132 for communicating with the hub device 112, the backend server 114,the first signaling device 116 (e.g., a wireless speaker), the secondsignaling device 118 (e.g., a digital or mechanical doorbell signalingdevice), and/or any other device. The exterior component 102(A) and/orthe interior component 102(B) may include additional, or differentcomponents, as discussed herein.

As illustrated, the exterior component 102(A) and the interior component102(B) are associated with (in some examples, coupled to) the viewer102(C). In some examples, the exterior component 102(A) and the interiorcomponent 102(B) may be secured to the door 104 by being secured to theviewer 102(C). For example, the viewer 102(C) may include structure,such as threads, at one or both ends of the viewer 102(C), and theviewer may extend into a first opening in the exterior component 102(A)and a second opening in the interior component 102(B). In some examples,the engagement between the viewer 102(C) and the exterior component102(A) and the interior component 102(B) may be tightened (e.g., usingmale/female threading, using tension, using adhesive, etc.) to reducethe lateral length of the viewer between the exterior component 102(A)and the interior component 102(B), thereby pulling the exteriorcomponent 102(A) toward the exterior surface of the door 104 and pullingthe interior component 102(B) toward an interior surface of the door 104until the A/V device is securely mounted on the door 104. In otherexamples, the exterior component 102(A) and the interior component102(B) may be securely mounted on the door 104 using alternativemethods, such as by adhesively securing the exterior component 102(A)and the interior component 102(B) to the door 104, screwing, nailing, orotherwise physically securing the exterior component 102(A) and theinterior component 102(B) to the door 104, and/or by other methods.

The first signaling device 116 and/or the second signaling device 118may be any type of signaling device, such as a wired signaling device, awireless signaling device, etc. The first signaling device 116 and/orthe second signaling device 118 may include a speaker, anelectronic/digital signaling device, a mechanical signaling device,and/or another device to output sound. In the example of FIG. 1, thefirst signaling device 116 is plugged into an electrical outlet in thehouse 106 and communicates wirelessly with the A/V device 102 (and/orthe hub 112 and/or the backend server 114) to output sound. Here, thefirst signaling device 116 is implemented as a combination wirelessnetwork extender and signaling device, and the second signaling device118 is implemented as a mechanical or electronic/digital signalingdevice, such as one that is hard-wired to an existing doorbell.

In some examples, the A/V device 102 operates in cooperation with thehub device 112, the backend server 114, the first signaling device 116,and/or the second signaling device 118 to perform a variety ofoperations. As one example, the A/V device 102 may capture image datawith the camera 124 and generate audio data with the microphone 128 whenmotion is detected from the user 110 and/or when the user 110 knocks onor contacts the door 104. The A/V device 102 may further detect a buttonpress when the user 110 contacts the button 122. The A/V device 102 maysend, using the wireless transceiver 132, the image data, the audiodata, an indication of the button press, and/or a notification to thehub device 112 and/or the backend server 114. The hub device 112 and/orthe backend server 114 may perform processing on the received data,notify a user associated with the A/V device 102 of an event (e.g.,detected motion, movement, vibration, the button press, etc.), send theimage data, the audio data, and/or the indication of the button press,and/or perform other processing. As another example, the A/V device 102may detect more than a threshold amount of movement or vibration of theA/V device 102, detect a change to an orientation of the A/V device 102,etc., based on data from the sensor 130. These events may indicate thatthe user 108 and/or the user 110 has contacted or moved the door 104(e.g., the user 110 has knocked on the door 104, the user 108 and/or theuser 110 is opening or closing the door 104, etc.). In response, the A/Vdevice 102 may cause the camera 124 to activate and capture image dataand/or the microphone 128 to active and generate audio data. Further,the A/V device 102 may send, using the wireless transceiver 132, theimage data, the audio data, and/or an indication of the movement orvibration to the hub device 112 and/or the backend server 114. As yetanother example, the A/V device 102 may cause the speaker 129, the firstsignaling device 116, and/or the second signaling device 118 to outputaudio when the A/V device 102 detects motion, movement or vibration, achange in an orientation of the A/V device, etc. In some examples, thesame audio may be output for each type of detected event, while in otherexamples, one or more different sounds may be output for different typesof detected events (e.g., motion detected causes output of first audioand a press of the button 122 causes output of second audio). In yetother examples, the A/V device 102 may perform a variety of otheroperations.

Although the door 104 is illustrated in the example of FIG. 1, the A/Vdevice 102 may be attached to other types of barriers, such as walls,windows, gates, or other objects. Further, while the door 104 in FIG. 1is a front door for the house 106, the door 104 may be any type of door,such as a garage door, a back door, a sliding door, a hinged door, etc.Further, although various functionality and/or components are discussedas being embodied in the exterior component 102(A), the interiorcomponent 102(B), and the viewer 102(C), respectively, the functionalityand/or components may be implemented in other configurations, asdiscussed in further detail hereafter.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system 200 forcommunicating in a network according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Home automation, or smart home, is building automation forthe home. Home automation enable users (e.g., home owners and authorizedpeople) to control and/or automate various devices and/or systems, suchas lighting, heating (e.g., smart thermostats), ventilation, homeentertainment, air conditioning (HVAC), blinds/shades, security devices(e.g., contact sensors, smoke/CO detectors, motion sensors, etc.),washers/dryers, ovens, refrigerators/freezers, and/or other networkconnected devices suitable for use in the home. In various embodiments,Wi-Fi is used for remote monitoring and control of such devices and/orsystems. Smart home devices (e.g., hub devices 202, sensors 204,automation devices 206, a virtual assistant (VA) device 208, Audio/Video(A/V) devices 210, etc.), when remotely monitored and controlled via anetwork (Internet/a public switched telephone network (PSTN)) 212 (whichmay be similar to, and represent the one or more networks 120 of FIG.1), may be considered to be components of the “Internet of Things.”Smart home systems may include switches and/or sensors (e.g., thesensors 204) connected to a central hub such as the smart-home hubdevice 202 and/or the VA device 208 (the hub device 202 and/or the VAdevice 208 may alternatively be referred to as a gateway, a controller,a home-automation hub, or an intelligent personal assistance device)from which the system may be controlled through various user interfaces,such as voice commands and/or a touchscreen. Various examples, of userinterfaces may include any or all of a wall-mounted terminal (e.g., akeypad, a touchscreen, etc.), software installed on the client devices214, 216 (e.g., a mobile application), a tablet computer, or a webinterface. Furthermore, these user interfaces are often but not alwayssupported by Internet cloud services. In one example, the Internet cloudservices are responsible for obtaining user input via the userinterfaces (e.g., a user interface of the hub device 202 and/or the VAdevice 208) and causing the smart home devices (e.g., the sensors 204,the automation devices 206, etc.) to perform an operation in response tothe user input.

The hub device 202, the VA device 208, the sensors 204, the automationdevices 206, the A/V devices 210, and/or client devices 214, 216 may useone or more wired and/or wireless communication protocols tocommunicate, including, for example and without limitation, Wi-Fi (e.g.,the user's network 218), X10, Ethernet, RS-485, 6LoWPAN, Bluetooth LE(BLE), ZigBee, Z-Wave, and/or a low power wide-area networks (LPWAN),such as a chirp spread spectrum (CSS) modulation technology network(e.g., LoRaWAN), an Ultra Narrow Band modulation technology network(e.g., Sigfox, Telensa, NB-IoT, etc.), RingNet, and/or the like.

The user's network 218 may be, for example, a wired and/or wirelessnetwork. If the user's network 218 is wireless, or includes a wirelesscomponent, the user's network 218 may be a Wi-Fi network compatible withthe IEEE 802.11 standard and/or other wireless communicationstandard(s). Furthermore, the user's network 218 may be connected toother networks such as the network 212, which may comprise, for example,the Internet and/or PSTN.

The system 200 may include one or more A/V devices 210 (alternatively bereferred to herein as “A/V devices 210” or “A/V device 210”) (which mayrepresent, and/or be similar to, the A/V device 102 of FIG. 1). The A/Vdevices 210 may include security cameras, light cameras (e.g.,floodlight cameras, spotlight cameras, etc.), video doorbells (e.g.,wall powered and/or battery powered video doorbells), and/or otherdevices capable of recording audio data and/or image data. The A/Vdevices 210 may be configured to access a user's network 218 to connectto a network (Internet/PSTN) 212 and/or may be configured to access acellular network to connect to the network (Internet/PSTN) 212. Thecomponents and functionality of the A/V devices 210 are described inmore detail below with respect to FIG. 3.

The system 200 may further include a smart-home hub device 202 (whichmay alternatively be referred to herein as the “hub device 202”)connected to the user's network 218 and/or the network (Internet/PSTN)212. The smart-home hub device 202 (also known as a home automation hub,gateway device, or network device), may comprise any device thataccommodates communication with and control of the sensors 204,automation devices 206, the VA device 208, and/or the one or more A/Vdevices 210. For example, the smart-home hub device 202 may be acomponent of a security system and/or a home automation system installedat a location (e.g., a property, a premise, a home, a business, etc.).In some embodiments, the A/V devices 210, the VA device 208, the sensors204, and/or the automation devices 206 communicate with the smart-homehub device 202 directly and/or indirectly using one or more wirelessand/or wired communication protocols (e.g., BLE, Zigbee, Z-Wave, etc.),the user's network 218 (e.g., Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.), and/or the network(Internet/PSTN) 212. In some of the present embodiments, the A/V devices210, the VA device 208, the sensors 204, and/or the automation devices206 may, in addition to or in lieu of communicating with the smart-homehub device 202, communicate with the client devices 214, 216, the VAdevice 208, and/or one or more of components of the network ofservers/backend devices 220 directly and/or indirectly via the user'snetwork 218 and/or the network (Internet/PSTN) 212.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the system 200 includes the VA device 208. TheVA device 208 may be connected to the user's network 218 and/or thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 212. The VA device 208 may include anintelligent personal assistant, such as, without limitation, AmazonAlexa® and/or Apple Siri®. For example, the VA device 208 may beconfigured to receive voice commands, process the voice commands todetermine one or more actions and/or responses (e.g., transmit the voicecommands to the one or more components of the network of servers/backenddevices 220 for processing), and perform the one or more actions and/orresponses, such as to activate and/or change the status of one or moreof the sensors 204, automation devices 206, or A/V devices 210. In someembodiments, the VA device 208 is configured to process user inputs(e.g., voice commands) without transmitting information to the networkof servers/backend devices 220 for processing. The VA device 208 mayinclude at least one speaker (e.g., for playing music, for outputtingthe audio data generated by the A/V devices 210, for outputting thevoice of a digital assistant, etc.), at least one a microphone (e.g.,for receiving commands, for recording audio data, etc.), and a display(e.g., for displaying a user interface, for displaying the image datagenerated by the A/V devices 210, etc.). In various embodiments, the VAdevice 208 may include an array of speakers that are able to producebeams of sound. Although illustrated as a separate component in FIG. 2,in some embodiments the VA device 208 may not be a separate componentfrom the hub device 202. In such embodiments, the hub device 202 mayinclude the functionality of the VA device 208 or the VA device 208 mayinclude the functionality of the hub device 202.

The one or more sensors 204 may include, for example, at least one of adoor sensor, a window sensor, a contact sensor, a tilt sensor, atemperature sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, a smoke detector, a lightsensor, a glass break sensor, a freeze sensor, a flood sensor, amoisture sensor, a motion sensor, and/or other sensors that may providethe user/owner of the security system a notification of a security eventat his or her property.

In various embodiments, a contact sensor may include any componentconfigured to inform (e.g., via a signal) the security system whether anobject (e.g., a door or a window) is open or closed. A contact sensormay include first and second components: a first component installed onthe object itself (e.g., the door or the window); the second componentinstalled next to the object (e.g., on the door jamb). The first andsecond components of the contact sensor, however, need not actually bein physical contact with one another in order to be in the closed (notfaulted) state. For example, at least one of the first and secondcomponents may include a magnet, and the contact sensor may rely on theHall effect for determining a proximity of the first and second piecesto one another. When the door, window, or other object, is opened, andthe first and second components move apart from one another, the contactsensor may transmit an open signal to the security system (e.g., to thehub device 202). A similar process may be performed when the object isclosed. In some examples, a signal transmitted by the security system bythe contact sensor during opening and/or closing may be the same signal,and the hub device 202 may interpret the signal based on the known stateof the object (e.g., when a door is closed, and the signal is received,the hub device 202 may update the status of the door to open).

The one or more automation devices 206 may include, for example, atleast one of an outdoor lighting system, an indoor lighting system, andindoor/outdoor lighting system, a temperature control system (e.g., athermostat), a shade/blind control system, a locking control system(e.g., door lock, window lock, etc.), a home entertainment automationsystem (e.g., TV control, sound system control, etc.), an irrigationcontrol system, a wireless signal range extender (e.g., a Wi-Fi rangeextender, a Z-Wave range extender, etc.) a doorbell signaling device, abarrier control device (e.g., an automated door hinge), a smart doormat,and/or other automation devices.

As described herein, in some of the present embodiments, some or all ofthe client devices 214, 216, the A/V device(s) 210, the smart-home hubdevice 202, the VA device 208, the sensors 204, and the automationdevices 206 may be referred to as a security system and/or ahome-automation system. The security system and/or home-automationsystem may be installed at location, such as a property, home, business,or premises for the purpose of securing and/or automating all or aportion of the location.

The system 200 may further include one or more client devices 214, 216.The client devices 214, 216 may communicate with and/or be associatedwith (e.g., capable of access to and control of) the A/V devices 210, asmart-home hub device 202, the VA device 208, sensors 204, and/orautomation devices 206. In various embodiments, the client devices 214,216 communicate with other devices using one or more wireless and/orwired communication protocols, the user's network, and/or the network(Internet/PSTN) 212, as described herein. The client devices 214, 216may comprise, for example, a mobile device such as a smartphone or apersonal digital assistant (PDA), or a computing device such as a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc. In someembodiments, the client devices 214, 216 includes a connected device,such as a smart watch, Bluetooth headphones, another wearable device, orthe like. In such embodiments, the client devices 214, 216 may include acombination of the smartphone or other device and a connected device(e.g., a wearable device), such that alerts, data, and/or informationreceived by the smartphone or other device are provided to the connecteddevice, and one or more controls of the smartphone or other device maybe input using the connected device (e.g., by touch, voice, etc.).

The A/V devices 210, the hub device 202, the VA device 208, theautomation devices 206, the sensors 204, and/or the client devices 214,216 may also communicate, via the user's network 218 and/or the network(Internet/PSTN) 212, with network(s) of servers and/or backend devices220, such as (but not limited to) one or more remote storage devices 222(may be referred to interchangeably as “cloud storage device(s)”), oneor more backend servers 224, and one or more backend applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) 226. While FIG. 2 illustrates the storagedevice 222, the backend server 224, and the backend API 226 ascomponents separate from the network 220, it is to be understood thatthe storage device 222, the backend server 224, and/or the backend API226 may be considered to be components of the network 220. For example,the network 220 may include a data center with a plurality of computingresources used to implement the storage device 222, the backend server224, and the backend API 226.

The backend server 224 (which may represent, and/or be similar to, thebackend server 114 of FIG. 1) may comprise a computer program or othercomputer executable code that, when executed by processor(s) of thebackend server 224, causes the backend server 224 to wait for requestsfrom other computer systems or software (clients) and provide responses.In an embodiment, the backend server 224 shares data and/or hardwareand/or software resources among the client devices 214, 216. Thisarchitecture is called the client-server model. The client devices 214,216 may run on the same computer or may connect to the backend server224 over the network (Internet/PSTN) 212 and/or the network 220.Examples of computing servers include database servers, file servers,mail servers, print servers, web servers, game servers, and applicationservers. The term server may be construed broadly to include anycomputerized process that shares a resource to one or more clientprocesses.

The backend API 226 may comprise, for example, a server (e.g. a realserver, or a virtual machine, or a machine running in a cloudinfrastructure as a service), or multiple servers networked together,exposing at least one API to clients. In various embodiments, thebackend API 226 is provided by servers including various components suchas an application server (e.g. software servers), a caching layer, adatabase layer, or other components suitable for implementing one ormore APIs. The backend API 226 may, for example, comprise a plurality ofapplications, each of which communicate with one another using one ormore public APIs. In some embodiments, the backend API 226 maintainsuser data and provides user management capabilities, thereby reducingthe load (e.g., memory and processor consumption) of the client devices214, 216.

In various embodiments, an API is a set of routines, protocols, andtools for building software and applications. Furthermore, the API maydescribe a software component in terms of its operations, inputs,outputs, and underlying types, defining functionalities that areindependent of their respective implementations, which allowsdefinitions and implementations to vary without compromising theinterface. As such, the API may provide a programmer with access to aparticular application's functionality without the need to modify theparticular application.

The backend API 226 illustrated in FIG. 2 may further include one ormore services (also referred to as network services). A network serviceis an application that provides data storage, manipulation,presentation, communication, and/or other capability. Network servicesare often implemented using a client-server architecture based onapplication-layer network protocols. Each service may be provided by aserver component (e.g., the backend server 224) running on one or morecomputers (such as a dedicated server computer offering multipleservices) and accessed via a network by client components running onother devices (e.g., client devices 214, 216). However, the client andserver components can both be run on the same machine. Clients andservers may have a user interface, and sometimes other hardwareassociated with them.

The network 220 may be any wireless network, any wired network, or acombination thereof, configured to operatively couple theabove-mentioned modules, devices, components, and/or systems asillustrated in FIG. 2. For example, the network 220, the user's network218, and/or the network (Internet PSTN) 212 may include one or more ofthe following: a PSTN (public switched telephone network), the Internet,a local intranet, a PAN (Personal Area Network), a LAN (Local AreaNetwork), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network),a virtual private network (VPN), a storage area network (SAN), a framerelay connection, an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) connection, asynchronous optical network (SONET) connection, a digital T1, T3, E1 orE3 line, a Digital Data Service (DDS) connection, a DSL (DigitalSubscriber Line) connection, an Ethernet connection, an ISDN (IntegratedServices Digital Network) line, a dial-up port such as a V.90, V.34, orV.34bis analog modem connection, a cable modem, an ATM (AsynchronousTransfer Mode) connection, or an FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface)or CDDI (Copper Distributed Data Interface) connection. Furthermore,communications may also include links to any of a variety of wirelessnetworks, including WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), GPRS (GeneralPacket Radio Service), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication),LTE, VoLTE, LoRaWAN, LPWAN, RPMA, LTE Cat-“X” (e.g. LTE Cat 1, LTE Cat0, LTE CatM1, LTE CatNB1), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), TDMA(Time Division Multiple Access), FDMA (Frequency Division MultipleAccess), and/or OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)cellular phone networks, global navigation satellite system (GNSS), suchas global positioning systems (GPS), CDPD (cellular digital packetdata), RIM (Research in Motion, Limited) duplex paging network,Bluetooth radio, or an IEEE 802.11-based radio frequency network. Thenetwork can further include or interface with any one or more of thefollowing: RS-232 serial connection, IEEE-4024 (Firewire) connection,Fibre Channel connection, IrDA (infrared) port, SCSI (Small ComputerSystems Interface) connection, USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection, orother wired or wireless, digital or analog, interface or connection,mesh or Digi® networking.

The hub device 202, the VA device 208, and/or any of the components ofthe network(s) of servers/backend devices 220 (e.g., the backend server224, the backend API 226, the storage devices 222, etc.) may be referredto herein as a “network device” or “network devices.” The hub device 112and/or the backend server 114 of FIG. 1 may include one or more of thenetwork devices described herein.

With further reference to FIG. 2, the system 200 may also include asecurity monitoring service 228. The security monitoring service 228 maybe operated by the same company that manufactures, sells, and/ordistributes the A/V devices 210, the hub device 202, the VA device 208,the sensors 204, and/or the automation devices 206. In otherembodiments, the security monitoring service 228 may be operated by athird-party company (e.g., a different company than the one thatmanufactured, sold, and/or distributed the A/V devices 210, the hubdevice 202, the VA device 208, the sensors 204, and/or the automationdevices 206). In any of the present embodiments, the security monitoringservice 228 may have control of at least some of the features andcomponents of the security system and/or the home-automation system(e.g., the security monitoring service 228 may be able to arm and/ordisarm the security system, lock and/or unlock doors, activate and/ordeactivate one or more of the sensors 204 and/or the automation devices206, etc.). For example, the security monitoring service 228 may operateand control their own client devices and/or network of servers/backenddevices for monitoring and/or controlling security systems. In such anexample, the A/V devices 210, the hub device 202, the VA device 208, thesensors 204, and/or the automation devices 206 may communicate with theclient devices and/or one or more components of the network ofservers/backend devices of the security monitoring service 228 over thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 212 (in some embodiments, via one or more of thecomponents of the network of backend servers/backend devices 220).

In some examples, the one or more networks 120 of FIG. 1 may berepresentative of the user's network 218, the network 212, and/or thenetwork of servers/backend devices 220.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram for an audio/video (A/V) recordingand communication device (“A/V device”) according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure. In some embodiments, the A/V device 210 mayinclude a button 306 and/or a connection to a signaling device 308(e.g., a pre-installed signaling device, such as a wired signalingdevice, and/or a wireless signaling device, connected over Wi-Fi, BLE,or another wireless communication protocol). With further reference toFIG. 3, the A/V device 210 may include a processor(s) 310, acommunication component 312 (e.g., network interface, wirelesstransceiver, etc.), a camera 314, a computer vision module 316, a lightsensor 318, an audio CODEC (coder-decoder) 320, volatile memory 322, andnon-volatile memory 324. The processor(s) 310 (alternatively referred toherein as a “CPU,” a “controller,” and/or a “microcontroller”) maycomprise an integrated circuit including a processor core, memory, andprogrammable input/output peripherals. The processor(s) 310 may receiveinput signals, such as data and/or power, from the camera 314, motionsensor(s) 326, light sensor 318, microphone(s) 328, speaker(s) 330,and/or the communication component 312, and may perform variousfunctions as described in the present disclosure. In variousembodiments, when the processor(s) 310 is triggered by the motionsensor(s) 326, the camera 314, the speaker(s) 330, the microphone(s)328, the communication component 312, and/or another component, theprocessor(s) 310 performs one or more processes and/or functions. Forexample, when the light sensor 318 detects a low level of ambient light,the light sensor 318 may trigger the processor(s) 310 to enable a nightvision camera mode. The processor(s) 310 may also provide datacommunication between various components such as between thecommunication component 312 and the camera 314.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the communication component 312 maycomprise an integrated circuit including a processor core, memory, andprogrammable input/output peripherals. The communication component 312may be operatively connected to the processor(s) 310. In someembodiments, the communication component 312 is configured to handlecommunication links between the A/V device 210 and other, externaldevices, external receivers, external transmitters, and/or externaltransceivers, and to route incoming/outgoing data appropriately. Forexample, inbound data from an antenna 332 of the communication component312 may be routed through the communication component 312 before beingdirected to the processor(s) 310, and outbound data from theprocessor(s) 310 may be routed through the communication component 312before being directed to the antenna 332 of the communication component312. As another example, the communication component 312 may beconfigured to transmit data to and/or receive data from a remote networkdevice (e.g., one or more components of the network(s) ofservers/backend devices 220 described in FIG. 2). The communicationcomponent 312 may include wireless 334(a) and wired 334(b) adapters. Forexample, the communication component 312 may include one or morewireless antennas, radios, receivers, transmitters, and/or transceivers(not shown in FIG. 3 for simplicity) configured to enable communicationacross one or more wireless networks, such as, without limitation,Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Zigbee, LPWAN(s), and/or satellitenetworks. The communication component 312 may receive inputs, such aspower and/or data, from the camera 314, the processor(s) 310, the button306 (in embodiments where the A/V device 210 is the video doorbell), themotion sensors 326, a reset button (not shown in FIG. 3 for simplicity),and/or the non-volatile memory 324. The communication component 312 mayalso include the capability of communicating over wired connections,such as with a signaling device 308. For example, when the button 306 ofthe video doorbell is pressed, the communication component 312 may betriggered to perform one or more functions, such as to transmit a signalover the wired 334(b) connection to the signaling device 308 (although,in some embodiments, the signal be transmitted over a wireless 334(a)connection to the signaling device) to cause the signaling device 308 toemit a sound (e.g., a doorbell tone, a user customized sound, aringtone, a seasonal ringtone, etc.). The communication component 312may also act as a conduit for data communicated between variouscomponents and the processor(s) 310.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the A/V device 210 may include thenon-volatile memory 324 and the volatile memory 322. The non-volatilememory 324 may comprise flash memory configured to store and/or transmitdata. For example, in certain embodiments the non-volatile memory 324may comprise serial peripheral interface (SPI) flash memory. In someembodiments, the non-volatile memory 324 may comprise, for example, NANDor NOR flash memory. The volatile memory 322 may comprise, for example,DDR3 SDRAM (double data rate type three synchronous dynamicrandom-access memory). In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, thevolatile memory 322 and the non-volatile memory 324 are illustrated asbeing separate from the processor(s) 310. However, the illustration ofFIG. 3 is not intended to be limiting, and in some embodiments thevolatile memory 322 and/or the non-volatile memory 324 may be physicallyincorporated with the processor(s) 310, such as on the same chip. Thevolatile memory 322 and/or the non-volatile memory 324, regardless oftheir physical location, may be shared by one or more other components(in addition to the processor(s) 310) of the present A/V device 210.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the A/V device 210 may include thecamera 314. The camera 314 may include an image sensor 336. The imagesensor 336 may include a video recording sensor and/or a camera chip. Inone aspect of the present disclosure, the imager sensor 336 may comprisea complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) array and may becapable of recording high definition (e.g., 722p, 1800p, 4K, etc.) videofiles. The camera 314 may include a separate camera processor (not shownin FIG. 3 for simplicity), or the processor(s) 310 may perform thecamera processing functionality. The processor(s) 310 (and/or cameraprocessor) may include an encoding and compression chip. In someembodiments, the processor(s) 310 (and/or the camera processor) maycomprise a bridge processor. The processor(s) 310 (and/or the cameraprocessor) may process video recorded by the image sensor 336 and/oraudio recorded by the microphone(s) 328, and may transform this datainto a form suitable for transfer by the communication component 312 tothe network (Internet/PSTN) 212. In various embodiments, the camera 314also includes memory, such as volatile memory that may be used when datais being buffered or encoded by the processor(s) 310 (and/or the cameraprocessor). For example, in certain embodiments the camera memory maycomprise synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SD RAM).

The camera 314 may further include an IR cut filter 338 that maycomprise a system that, when triggered, configures the image sensor 336to see primarily infrared light as opposed to visible light. Forexample, when the light sensor 318 detects a low level of ambient light(which may comprise a level that impedes the performance of the imagesensor 336 in the visible spectrum), the light emitting components 229may shine infrared light through an enclosure of the A/V device 210 outto the environment, and the IR cut filter 338 may enable the imagesensor 336 to see this infrared light as it is reflected or refractedoff of objects within the field of view of the doorbell. This processmay provide the A/V device with the “night vision” function mentionedabove.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the A/V device 210 may comprise thelight sensor 318 and the one or more light-emitting components 340, suchas LED's. The light sensor 318 may be one or more sensors capable ofdetecting the level of ambient light of the surrounding environment inwhich the A/V device 210 may be located. The light-emitting components340 may be one or more light-emitting diodes capable of producingvisible light and/or invisible (e.g., IR) light when supplied with power(e.g., to enable night vision). In some embodiments, when activated, thelight-emitting components 340 illuminates a light pipe. In someexamples, when the A/V device 210 is activated, the light-emittingcomponents 340 emit light.

The A/V device 210 may further include one or more speaker(s) 330 and/orone or more microphone(s) 328. The speaker(s) 330 may be anyelectromechanical device capable of producing sound in response to anelectrical signal input. The microphone(s) 328 may be anacoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor capable of converting soundwaves into an electrical signal. In some embodiments, the A/V device 210may include two or more microphone(s) 328 that are spaced from oneanother (e.g., located on different sides of the A/V device 210) toprovide noise cancelling and/or echo cancelling for clearer audio. Thespeaker(s) 330 and/or microphone(s) 328 may be coupled to an audio CODEC320 to enable digital audio received by client devices to bedecompressed and output by the speaker(s) 330 and/or to enable audiodata captured by the microphone(s) 328 to be compressed into digitalaudio data. The digital audio data may be received from and transmittedto client devices using the communication component 312 (in someembodiments, through one or more intermediary devices such as the hubdevice 202, the VA device 208, and/or one or more components of thenetwork of servers/backend devices 220 as described in FIG. 2). Forexample, when a visitor (or intruder) who is present in the area aboutthe A/V device 210 speaks, sound from the visitor (or intruder) isreceived by the microphone(s) 328 and compressed by the audio CODEC 320.Digital audio data is then sent through the communication component 312to the network 212 via the user's network 218, routed by the backendserver 224 and/or the backend API 226 and delivered to the clientdevice(s) 214, 216 as described above in connection with FIG. 2. Whenthe user speaks, after being transferred through the network 212, theuser's network 218, and the communication component 312, the digitalaudio data from the user is decompressed by the audio CODEC 320 andemitted to the visitor through the speaker(s) 330.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the A/V device 210 may be batterypowered using a battery 342 and/or may be powered using a source ofexternal AC (alternating-current) power, such as a household AC powersupply (alternatively referred to herein as “AC mains” or “wall power”).The AC power may have a voltage in the range of 110-220 VAC, forexample. The incoming AC power may be received by an AC/DC adapter (notshown), which may convert the incoming AC power to DC (direct-current)and may step down the voltage from 110-220 VAC to a lower output voltageof about 12 VDC and an output current of about 2 A, for example. Invarious embodiments, the output of the AC/DC adapter is in a range fromabout 9 V to about 15 V and in a range from about 0.5 A to about 5 A.These voltages and currents are examples provided for illustration andare not intended to be limiting.

However, in other embodiments, a battery 342 may not be included. Inembodiments that include the battery 342, the A/V device 210 may includean integrated circuit (not shown) capable of arbitrating betweenmultiple voltage rails, thereby selecting the source of power for theA/V device 210. The A/V device 210 may have separate power railsdedicated to the battery 342 and the AC power source. In one aspect ofthe present disclosure, the A/V device 210 may continuously draw powerfrom the battery 342 to power the A/V device 210, while at the same timerouting the AC power to the battery, thereby allowing the battery 342 tomaintain a substantially constant level of charge. Alternatively, theA/V device 210 may continuously draw power from the AC power to powerthe doorbell, while only drawing from the battery 342 when the AC poweris low or insufficient. Still, in some embodiments, the battery 342comprises the sole source of power for the A/V device 210. In suchembodiments, the components of the A/V device 210 (e.g., springcontacts, connectors, etc.) are not be connected to a source of ACpower. When the battery 342 is depleted of its charge, it may berecharged, such as by connecting a power source to the battery 342(e.g., using a USB connector).

Although not illustrated in FIG. 3, in some embodiments, the A/V device210 may include one or more of an accelerometer, a barometer, a humiditysensor, and a temperature sensor. The accelerometer may be one or moresensors capable of sensing motion and/or acceleration. The one or moreof the accelerometer, the barometer, the humidity sensor, and thetemperature sensor may be located outside of a housing of the A/V device210 so as to reduce interference from heat, pressure, moisture, and/orother stimuli generated by the internal components of the A/V device210.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the A/V device 210 may include one ormore motion sensor(s) 326. However, in some embodiments, the motionsensor(s) 326 may not be included, such as where motion detection isperformed by the camera 314 or another device. The motion sensor(s) 326may be any type of sensor capable of detecting and communicating thepresence of an entity within their field of view. As such, the motionsensor(s) 326 may include one or more (alone or in combination)different types of motion sensors. For example, in some embodiments, themotion sensor(s) 326 may comprise passive infrared (PIR) sensors, whichmay be secured on or within a PIR sensor holder that may reside behind alens (e.g., a Fresnel lens). In such an example, the PIR sensors maydetect IR radiation in a field of view, and produce an output signal(typically a voltage) that changes as the amount of IR radiation in thefield of view changes. The amount of voltage in the output signal may becompared, by the processor(s) 310, for example, to one or more thresholdvoltage values to determine if the amount of voltage in the outputsignal is indicative of motion, and/or if the amount of voltage in theoutput signal is indicative of motion of an entity that is to becaptured by the camera 314 (e.g., motion of a person and/or animal mayprompt activation of the camera 314, while motion of a vehicle may not).Although the above discussion of the motion sensor(s) 326 primarilyrelates to PIR sensors, depending on the embodiment, the motionsensor(s) 326 may include additional and/or alternate sensor types thatproduce output signals including alternative data types. For example,and without limitation, the output signal may include an amount ofvoltage change based on the presence of infrared radiation in a field ofview of an active infrared (AIR) sensor, the output signal may includephase shift data from a microwave-type motion sensor, the output signalmay include doppler shift data from an ultrasonic-type motion sensor,the output signal may include radio wave disturbance from atomographic-type motion sensor, and/or the output signal may includeother data types for other sensor types that may be used as the motionsensor(s) 326 of the A/V device 210.

In some embodiments, computer vision module(s) (CVM) 316 may be includedin the A/V device 210 as the motion sensor(s) 326, in addition to, oralternatively from, other motion sensor(s) 326. For example, the CVM 316may be a low-power CVM (e.g., Qualcomm Glance) that, by operating at lowpower (e.g., less than 2 mW of end-to-end power), is capable ofproviding computer vision capabilities and functionality for batterypowered devices (e.g., the A/V device 210 when powered by the battery342). The low-power CVM may include a lens, a CMOS image sensor, and adigital processor that may perform embedded processing within thelow-power CVM itself, such that the low-power CVM may outputpost-processed computer vision metadata to the processor(s) 310 (e.g.,via a serial peripheral bus interface (SPI)). As such, the low-power CVMmay be considered to be one or more of the motion sensor(s) 326, and thedata type output in the output signal may be the post-processed computervision metadata. The metadata may include information such as thepresence of a particular type of entity (e.g., person, animal, vehicle,parcel, etc.), a direction of movement of the entity, a distance of theentity from the A/V device 210, etc. In various embodiments, the motionsensor(s) 326 include a plurality of different sensor types capable ofdetecting motion such as PIR, AIR, low-power CVM, and/or cameras.

As indicated above, the A/V device 210 may include the CVM 316 (whichmay be the same as the above described low-power CVM 316 implemented asone or more motion sensor(s) 326, or may be additional to, oralternative from, the above described low-power CVM 316). For example,the A/V device 210, the hub device 202, the VA device 208, and/or one ormore component of the network(s) of servers/backend devices 220 mayperform any or all of the computer vision processes and functionalitiesdescribed herein. In addition, although the CVM 316 is only illustratedas a component of the A/V device 210, the computer vision module 316 mayadditionally, or alternatively, be included as a component of the hubdevice 202, the VA device 208, and/or one or more components of thenetwork of servers/backend devices 220. With respect to the A/V device210, the CVM 316 may include any of the components (e.g., hardware)and/or functionality described herein with respect to computer vision,including, without limitation, one or more cameras, sensors, and/orprocessors. In some of the present embodiments, with reference to FIG.3, the microphone(s) 328, the camera 314, the processor(s) 310, and/orthe image sensor 336 may be components of the CVM 316. In someembodiments, the CVM 316 may include an internal camera, image sensor,and/or processor, and the CVM 316 may output data to the processor(s)310 in an output signal, for example.

As a result of including the CVM 316, some of the present embodimentsmay leverage the CVM 316 to implement computer vision for one or moreaspects, such as motion detection, object recognition, and/or facialrecognition. Computer vision includes methods for acquiring, processing,analyzing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensionaldata from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolicinformation, e.g., in the form of decisions. Computer vision seeks toduplicate the abilities of human vision by electronically perceiving andunderstanding an image. Understanding in this context means thetransformation of visual images (the input of the retina) intodescriptions of the world that can interface with other thoughtprocesses and elicit appropriate action. This image understanding can beseen as the disentangling of symbolic information from image data usingmodels constructed with the aid of geometry, physics, statistics, andlearning theory. Computer vision has also been described as theenterprise of automating and integrating a wide range of processes andrepresentations for vision perception. As a scientific discipline,computer vision is concerned with the theory behind artificial systemsthat extract information from images. The image data can take manyforms, such as video sequences, views from multiple cameras, ormulti-dimensional data from a scanner.

One aspect of computer vision comprises determining whether or not theimage data contains some specific object, feature, or activity.Different varieties of computer vision recognition include: ObjectRecognition (also called object classification)—One or severalpre-specified or learned objects or object classes can be recognized,usually together with their 2D positions in the image or 3D poses in thescene. Identification—A person instance of an object is recognized.Examples include identification of a specific person's face orfingerprint, identification of handwritten digits, or identification ofa specific vehicle. Detection—The image data are scanned for a specificcondition. Examples include detection of possible abnormal cells ortissues in medical images or detection of a vehicle in an automatic roadtoll system. Detection based on relatively simple and fast computationsis sometimes used for finding smaller regions of interesting image datathat can be further analyzed by more computationally demandingtechniques to produce a correct interpretation.

Several specialized tasks based on computer vision recognition exist,such as: Optical Character Recognition (OCR)—Identifying characters inimages of printed or handwritten text, usually with a view to encodingthe text in a format more amenable to editing or indexing (e.g., ASCII).2D Code Reading—Reading of 2D codes such as data matrix and QR codes.Facial Recognition. Shape Recognition Technology (SRT)—Differentiatinghuman beings (e.g., head and shoulder patterns) from objects.

Image acquisition—A digital image is produced by one or several imagesensors, which, besides various types of light-sensitive cameras, mayinclude range sensors, tomography devices, radar, ultra-sonic cameras,etc. Depending on the type of sensor, the resulting image data may be a2D image, a 3D volume, or an image sequence. The pixel values maycorrespond to light intensity in one or several spectral bands (grayimages or color images), but can also be related to various physicalmeasures, such as depth, absorption or reflectance of sonic orelectromagnetic waves, or nuclear magnetic resonance.

Pre-processing—Before a computer vision method can be applied to imagedata in order to extract some specific piece of information, it isusually beneficial to process the data in order to assure that itsatisfies certain assumptions implied by the method. Examples ofpre-processing include, but are not limited to re-sampling in order toassure that the image coordinate system is correct, noise reduction inorder to assure that sensor noise does not introduce false information,contrast enhancement to assure that relevant information can bedetected, and scale space representation to enhance image structures atlocally appropriate scales.

Feature extraction—Image features at various levels of complexity areextracted from the image data. Typical examples of such features are:Lines, edges, and ridges; Localized interest points such as corners,blobs, or points; More complex features may be related to texture,shape, or motion.

Detection/segmentation—At some point in the processing a decision may bemade about which image points or regions of the image are relevant forfurther processing. Examples are: Selection of a specific set ofinterest points; Segmentation of one or multiple image regions thatcontain a specific object of interest; Segmentation of the image intonested scene architecture comprising foreground, object groups, singleobjects, or salient object parts (also referred to as spatial-taxonscene hierarchy).

High-level processing—At this step, the input may be a small set ofdata, for example a set of points or an image region that is assumed tocontain a specific object. The remaining processing may comprise, forexample: Verification that the data satisfy model-based andapplication-specific assumptions; Estimation of application-specificparameters, such as object pose or object size; Imagerecognition—classifying a detected object into different categories;Image registration—comparing and combining two different views of thesame object.

Decision making—Making the final decision required for the application,for example match/no-match in recognition applications.

One or more of the present embodiments may include a vision processingunit (not shown separately, but may be a component of the CVM 316). Avision processing unit is an emerging class of microprocessor; it is aspecific type of AI (artificial intelligence) accelerator designed toaccelerate machine vision tasks. Vision processing units are distinctfrom video processing units (which are specialized for video encodingand decoding) in their suitability for running machine vision algorithmssuch as convolutional neural networks, SIFT, etc. Vision processingunits may include direct interfaces to take data from cameras (bypassingany off-chip buffers), and may have a greater emphasis on on-chipdataflow between many parallel execution units with scratchpad memory,like a manycore DSP (digital signal processor). But, like videoprocessing units, vision processing units may have a focus on lowprecision fixed-point arithmetic for image processing.

Some of the present embodiments may use facial recognition hardwareand/or software, as a part of the computer vision system. Various typesof facial recognition exist, some or all of which may be used in thepresent embodiments.

Some face recognition algorithms identify facial features by extractinglandmarks, or features, from an image of the subject's face. Forexample, an algorithm may analyze the relative position, size, and/orshape of the eyes, nose, cheekbones, and jaw. These features are thenused to search for other images with matching features. Other algorithmsnormalize a gallery of face images and then compress the face data, onlysaving the data in the image that is useful for face recognition. Aprobe image is then compared with the face data. One of the earliestsuccessful systems is based on template matching techniques applied to aset of salient facial features, providing a sort of compressed facerepresentation.

Recognition algorithms can be divided into two main approaches,geometric, which looks at distinguishing features, or photometric, whichis a statistical approach that distills an image into values andcompares the values with templates to eliminate variances.

Popular recognition algorithms include principal component analysisusing eigenfaces, linear discriminant analysis, elastic bunch graphmatching using the Fisherface algorithm, the hidden Markov model, themultilinear subspace learning using tensor representation, and theneuronal motivated dynamic link matching.

Further, a newly emerging trend, claimed to achieve improved accuracy,is three-dimensional face recognition. This technique uses 3D sensors tocapture information about the shape of a face. This information is thenused to identify distinctive features on the surface of a face, such asthe contour of the eye sockets, nose, and chin.

One advantage of 3D face recognition is that it is not affected bychanges in lighting like other techniques. It can also identify a facefrom a range of viewing angles, including a profile view.Three-dimensional data points from a face vastly improve the precisionof face recognition. 3D research is enhanced by the development ofsophisticated sensors that do a better job of capturing 3D face imagery.The sensors work by projecting structured light onto the face. Up to adozen or more of these image sensors can be placed on the same CMOSchip—each sensor captures a different part of the spectrum.

Another variation is to capture a 3D picture by using three trackingcameras that point at different angles; one camera pointing at the frontof the subject, a second one to the side, and a third one at an angle.All these cameras work together to track a subject's face in real timeand be able to face detect and recognize.

Another emerging trend uses the visual details of the skin, as capturedin standard digital or scanned images. This technique, called skintexture analysis, turns the unique lines, patterns, and spots apparentin a person's skin into a mathematical space.

Another form of taking input data for face recognition is by usingthermal cameras, which may only detect the shape of the head and ignorethe subject accessories such as glasses, hats, or make up.

Further examples of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC)and/or computer vision that can be used in the present embodiments toverify the identity and/or authorization of a person include, withoutlimitation, biometrics. Biometrics refers to metrics related to humancharacteristics. Biometrics authentication (or realistic authentication)is used in various forms of identification and access control. Biometricidentifiers are the distinctive, measurable characteristics used tolabel and describe people. Biometric identifiers can be physiologicalcharacteristics and/or behavioral characteristics. Physiologicalcharacteristics may be related to the shape of the body. Examplesinclude, but are not limited to, fingerprints, palm veins, facialrecognition, three-dimensional facial recognition, skin textureanalysis, DNA, palm prints, hand geometry, iris recognition, retinarecognition, and odor/scent recognition. Behavioral characteristics maybe related to the pattern of behavior of a person, including, but notlimited to, typing rhythm, gait, and voice recognition.

The present embodiments may use any one, or any combination of more thanone, of the foregoing biometrics to identify and/or authenticate aperson who is either suspicious or who is authorized to take certainactions with respect to a property or expensive item of collateral. Forexample, with reference to FIG. 3, the CVM 316, and/or the camera 314and/or the processor(s) 310 may receive information about the personusing any one, or any combination of more than one, of the foregoingbiometrics.

With further reference to FIG. 3, in embodiments the A/V device 210 mayinclude the button 306. In embodiments where the button 306 is amechanical button (e.g., has a range of movement), the button 306 maymake contact with a button actuator located within the A/V device 210when the button 306 is pressed. In embodiments where the button 306 isnot mechanical (e.g., has no range of motion), the button 306 mayinclude a capacitive touch button, a resistive touch button, a surfaceacoustic wave (SAW) button, an infrared (IR) button, an optical imagingbutton, an acoustic pulse recognition button, and/or a button thatimplements a low-power CVM for the detection of a person (e.g., afinger, hand, etc., of a person). When the button 306 is pressed,touched, and/or otherwise triggered, the processor(s) 310 may receive anoutput signal from the button 306 that may activate one or morefunctions of the A/V device 210, such as transmitting an output signal,using the communication component 312, to the signaling device 308 tocause the signaling device 308 to output a sound (e.g., via the wired334(b) connection to the signaling device 308 and/or a wireless 334(a)connection to the signaling device 308). In addition, the processor(s)310 may transmit an output signal (e.g., a notification), using thecommunication component 312, to the client device(s) 214, 216 toindicate to the user(s) of the client device(s) 214, 216 that a personis present at the A/V device 210 (in some embodiments, via at least oneof the hub device 202, the VA device 208, and/or one or more componentof the network of servers/backend devices 220).

In some examples, the A/V device 210 may include a sensor 344. Thesensor 344 may comprise an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer,and/or a glass break detector. An accelerometer may detect accelerationof the A/V device 210. A gyroscope may detect an orientation and/or anangular velocity of the A/V device 210. A magnetometer may detect amagnetism for the A/V device 210. A glass break detector may detectnoise or vibrations. In some examples, the glass break detector uses themicrophone(s) 328.

Although the A/V device 210 (or A/V device 210) is referred to herein asan “audio/video” device, the A/V device 210 need not have both audio andvideo functionality. For example, in some embodiments, the A/V device210 may not include the speakers 330, microphones 328, and/or audioCODEC. In such examples, the A/V device 210 may only have videorecording and communication functionalities. In other examples, the A/Vdevice 210 may only have the speaker(s) 330 and not the microphone(s)328, or may only have the microphone(s) 328 and not the speaker(s) 330.

With further reference to FIG. 3, in some embodiments the A/V device 210may include a viewer 346. As discussed in further detail below, theviewer 346 may be part of the A/V device 210 or may be a separateelement configured to attach to the A/V device 210, and/or an opening ina barrier.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 3, in some embodiments, the A/V device210 may include a light controller and/or one or more lights. The lightcontroller may include a switch for controlling the lights. For example,in response to the motions sensor(s) 326 and/or the camera 314 detectingmotion, the light controller may receive an output signal from theprocessor(s) 310 that causes the light controller to activate the one ormore lights. In some embodiments, a light camera may include motionsensor(s) 326 detecting motion for controlling activation of the lights,and may further include the camera 314 for detecting motion foractivating the recording of the image data using the camera 314 and/orthe recording of the audio data using the microphone(s) 328. In otherembodiments, the motion sensor(s) 326 may detect the motion foractivating the lights, the camera 314, and the microphone(s) 328, or thecamera 314 may detect the motion for activating the lights, the camera314 to being recording the image data, and the microphone(s) 328 tobeing recording the audio data. The lights may include floodlights,spotlights, porch lights, or another type of illumination device. Thelights may provide for better image data quality when ambient lightlevels are low (e.g., at dusk, dawn, or night), while also providing adeterrent effect by being illuminated when motion is detected.

FIGS. 4A-4D are example functional block diagrams illustratingembodiments of the A/V device 210 according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. In some embodiments, the A/V device 210 mayrepresent, and further include one or more of the components from theA/V device 210 illustrated in FIG. 3. Additionally, in some embodiments,the A/V device 210 may omit one or more of the components shown in FIG.3 or FIGS. 4A-4D, and/or may include one or more additional componentsnot shown in FIG. 3 or FIGS. 4A-4D.

As shown in FIG. 4A-4D, the A/V device 210 includes memory 402, whichmay represent the volatile memory 322 and/or the non-volatile memory 324(FIG. 3). The memory 402 stores a device application 404. In variousembodiments, the device application 404 may include instructions thatcause the processor(s) 310 to capture image data 406 using the camera314, audio data 408 using the microphone(s) 328, input data 410 usingthe button 306 (and/or the camera 314 and/or the motion sensor(s) 326,depending on the embodiment), and/or motion data 412 using the camera314 and/or the motion sensor(s) 326. In some embodiments, the deviceapplication 404 may also include instructions that cause theprocessor(s) 310 to generate text data 414 describing the image data406, the audio data 408, and/or the input data 410, such as in the formof metadata, for example.

In addition, the device application 404 may include instructions thatcause the processor(s) 310 to transmit the image data 406, the audiodata 408, the motion data 412, the input data 410, the text data 414,and/or notification(s) 416 to the client devices 214, 216, the hubdevice 202, and/or the backend server 224 using the communicationcomponent 312. In various embodiments, the device application 404 mayalso include instructions that cause the processor(s) 310 to generateand transmit an output signal 418 that may include the image data 406,the audio data 408, the text data 414, the input data 410, and/or themotion data 412. In some of the present embodiments, the output signal418 may be transmitted to the backend server 224 and/or the hub device202 using the communication component 312. The backend server 224 maythen transmit (or forward) the output signal 418 to the client device(s)214, 216, and/or the hub device 202 may then transmit (or forward) theoutput signal 418 to the client device(s) 214, 216, and/or the hubdevice 202 may then transmit (or forward) the output signal 418 to thebackend server 224, and the backend server 224 may then transmit (orforward) the output signal 418 to the client device(s) 214, 216. Inother embodiments, the output signal 418 may be transmitted directly tothe client device(s) 214, 216 by the A/V device 210.

In further reference to FIGS. 4A-4D, the image data 406 may compriseimage sensor data such as (but not limited to) exposure values and dataregarding pixel values for a particular sized grid. The image data 406may include still images, live video, and/or pre-recorded images and/orvideo. The image data 406 may be recorded by the camera 314 in a fieldof view of the camera 314. The image data 406 may be representative of(e.g., depict) a physical environment in a field of view of the camera406. In some embodiments, the physical environment may include one ormore objects (e.g., persons, vehicles, animals, items, etc.), and theimage data 406 may be representative of the one or more objects, such asthe one or more objects within the physical environment.

In further reference to FIGS. 4A-4D, the motion data 412 may comprisemotion sensor data generated in response to motion events. For example,the motion data 412 may include an amount or level of a data typegenerated by the motion sensor(s) 326 (e.g., the voltage level output bythe motion sensor(s) 326 when the motion sensor(s) 326 are PIR typemotion sensor(s)). In some of the present embodiments, such as thosewhere the A/V device 210 does not include the motion sensor(s) 326, themotion data 412 may be generated by the camera 314. In such embodiments,based on a frame by frame comparison of changes in the pixels from theimage data 406, it may be determined that motion is present.

The input data 410 may include data generated in response to an input tothe button 306. The button 306 may receive an input (e.g., a press, atouch, a series of touches and/or presses, etc.) and may generate theinput data 410 in response that is indicative of the type of input. Inembodiments where the A/V device 210 is not a doorbell, the A/V device210 may not include the button 306, and the A/V device 210 may notgenerate the input data 410.

With further reference to FIGS. 4A-4D, a notification 416 may begenerated by the processor(s) 310 and transmitted, using thecommunication component 312, to the client device 214, 216, the backendserver 224, and/or the hub device 202. For example, in response todetecting motion using the camera 314 and/or the motion sensor(s) 326,the A/V device 210 may generate and transmit the notification 416. Insome of the present embodiments, the notification 416 may include atleast the image data 406, the audio data 408, the text data 414, and/orthe motion data 412.

As described herein, the notification(s) 416 may include messages,signals, data, notifications, and/or any type of electroniccommunication that electronic devices (e.g., the A/V device 210, theclient device 214, 216, the hub device 202, and/or one or morecomponents of the network(s) of servers/backend devices 220) maytransmit and receive with other electronic devices (e.g., the A/V device210, the client device 214, 216, the hub device 202, and/or one or morecomponents of the network(s) of servers/backend devices 220). Forinstance, notification(s) 416 may include push notifications, emailmessages, short message service (SMS) messages, multimedia messages(MMS), voicemail messages, video signals, audio signals, datatransmissions, and/or any other type of electronic communication that anelectronic device can send to another electronic device.

The image data 406, the audio data 408, the text data 414, and/or themotion data 412 may be tagged with (e.g., a time stamp, based on clockdata) and/or stored separately (e.g., on the backend server 224, the hubdevice 202, and/or the A/V device 210) based on when the motion wasdetected, how long the motion was detected for, and/or a duration oftime associated with the detected motion, or motion event (e.g., theduration of time may include the time the motion was detected plus anadditional time, such as, without limitation, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, or30 seconds). For example, each separate detection of motion, or motionevent, may be associated with image data 406, audio data 408, text data414, and/or motion data 412 representative of the detection of motion,or motion event. As a result, when a request for data pertaining toparticular motion event, or a particular time period, is received (e.g.,by the client device 214, 216, the backend server 224, and/or the hubdevice 202), the image data 406, the audio data 408, the text data 414,and/or the motion data 412 associated with a particular motion event,and/or associated with motion event(s) within the particular timeperiod, may be transmitted, retrieved, and/or received.

Although examples discuss the A/V device 210 generating and/ortransmitting the image data 406, the audio data 408, the text data 414,and/or the motion data 412 when motion is detected (e.g., in thenotification 416 or otherwise), in other examples the data may begenerated and/or transmitted at other times. For example, the image data406, the audio data 408, the text data 414, and/or the motion data 412may be generated and transmitted continuously (e.g., in a streamingmanner), periodically, upon request, etc. In examples where the imagedata 406, the audio data 408, the text data 414, and/or the motion data412 may be generated and transmitted continuously, the detection ofmotion (e.g., a motion event) may cause an indication of when the motionwas detected (e.g., a time stamp) and/or how long the motion wasdetected for (e.g., a duration) to be associated with the image data406, the audio data 408, the text data 414, and/or the motion data 412.As a result, even though the image data 406, the audio data 408, thetext data 414, and/or the motion data 412 may be continuously generatedby the A/V device 210, the image data 406, the audio data 408, the textdata 414, and/or the motion data 412 associated with motion events maybe tagged and/or stored separately (e.g., similar to that of the imagedata 406, the audio data 408, the text data 414, and/or the motion data412 generated in response to the detection of motion), from the imagedata 406, the audio data 408, the text data 414, and/or the motion data412 that is not associated with motion events. Additionally, oralternatively, in some examples, the A/V device 210 may generate and/ortransmit the image data 406, the audio data 408, the text data 414,and/or the motion data 412 when more than a threshold amount of movementor vibration is detected, when a change to an orientation of the A/Vdevice 210 is detected, etc.

In some examples, the sensor 344 may generate sensor data 420 that isstored in the memory 402. The device application 404 may includeinstructions that cause the processor(s) 310 to analyze the sensor data420 when the sensor data 420 is received from the sensor 344 and/or atany other time. For example, the device application 404 may analyze thesensor data 420 to detect more than a threshold amount of movement orvibration of the A/V device 210 (e.g., indicating that a barrier orother surface to which the A/V device 210 is mounted has experiencedmovement or vibration), detect a change in orientation of the A/V device210 (e.g., indicating that a barrier or other surface to which the A/Vdevice 210 is mounted has experienced a change in orientation), etc. Toillustrate, a threshold amount of movement, vibration, or change inorientation may be detected when the sensor data 420 includesacceleration values from an accelerometer that are greater than athreshold (e.g., indicating that more than a threshold amount ofacceleration occurred), when the sensor data 420 includes orientationand/or angular velocity values from a gyroscope that are greater than athreshold (e.g., indicating that an orientation or angular velocity ofthe A/V device 210 has changed by more than a threshold amount), whenthe sensor data 420 includes values from a magnetometer that indicatemore than a threshold amount of a change in a direction, strength, etc.of a magnetic field, when the sensor data 420 includes noise orvibration values from a glass break detector that are greater than athreshold (e.g., indicating that more than a threshold amount of noiseor vibration was detected), and so on.

In some examples, the device application 404 may detect that a barrierattached to the A/V device 210 has opened or closed. To illustrate, ifthe A/V device 210 detects a resting position for more than a thresholdamount of time (e.g., based on not receiving a change in data or anydata at all from the sensor 344), the A/V device 210 may determine thata door to which the A/V device 210 is attached is closed. Thereafter, ifthe A/V device 210 detects a threshold amount of movement, vibration,and/or change in orientation, the A/V device 210 may determine that thedoor is being opened. When the movement, vibration, and/or change inorientation ceases, the A/V device 210 may determine that the door isopen. Further, when the A/V device 210 determines movement, vibration,and/or change in orientation again (and in an opposite direction), theA/V device 210 may determine that the door is being closed.

In some examples, the A/V device 210 includes a first component 422, asecond component 424, the viewer 346, a flexible connector 426, and/or afastener(s) 428. In some examples, the first component 422 may bemounted on one side of a barrier, while the second component 424 may bemounted on a second side of the barrier.

The viewer 346 may include a passage extending through a middle of theviewer 346. For example, the viewer 346 may have an elongated tubularshape or other shape with a hollow center. In some examples, the viewer346 may include a len(s) disposed within the passage. The viewer 346 maybe part of the first component 422 and/or the second component 424, ormay be a separate element attachable to the first component 422, thesecond component 424, and/or an opening in a barrier. The viewer 346 maybe formed of a variety of substances, such as metal (e.g., steel,aluminum, copper, titanium, etc.), plastic, etc. The viewer 346 may be avariety of sizes, such as 68 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, etc. Insome examples, the viewer 346 may fit a door thickness between 34 and 56mm. In other examples, other door thicknesses may be met.

The flexible connector 426 may mechanically couple and/or electricallycouple the first component 422 to the second component 424. For example,the flexible connector 426 may allow power to be provided from thesecond component 424 (e.g., the battery 342) to the first component 422,or vice versa. Further, the flexible connector 426 may allow one or moreelements of the first component 422 to communicate with one or moreelements of the second component 424 (e.g., may provide a communicatechannel). In some examples the first component 422 and the secondcomponent 424 may communicate wirelessly (e.g., over a wirelesschannel). The flexible connector 426 may comprise a wire, a cable (e.g.,USB cable, HDMI cable, power cable, etc.), flexible electronics (e.g., aflex printed circuit board (PCB), also referred to as flex cord, etc.),and so on.

The fastener(s) 428 may connect the viewer 346 to the first component422 and/or to the second component 424. The fastener(s) 428 may takevarious forms, such as a bolt, screw, washer, nut, button, clip, flange,staple, pin, nail, latch, rivet, etc. Although the fastener(s) 428 isdiscussed in many examples, in other examples other forms are used tojoin the viewer 346, the first component 422, and/or the secondcomponent 424, such as an adhesive (e.g. glue, cement, etc.), welding,soldering, brazing, crimping, etc.

The components of the A/V device 210 may be arranged in a variety ofmanners. In one example, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, the first component422 includes the camera 314, the microphone(s) 328, the motion sensor(s)326, the button 306, the light sensor 318, the computer vision module316, the audio codec 320, the speaker(s) 330, the sensor 344, theprocessor(s) 310, and the memory 402. The second component 424 mayinclude the communication component 312 and the battery 342. The battery342 may provide power to the first component 422 and/or the secondcomponent 424.

In another example, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the first component 422includes the camera 314, the microphone(s) 328, the motion sensor(s)326, the button 306, the light sensor 318, the computer vision module316, the audio codec 320, the speaker(s) 330, and the sensor 344. Inthis example, the second component 424 may include the processor(s) 310,the memory 402, the communication component 312, and the battery 342.The battery 342 may provide power to the first component 422 and/or thesecond component 424.

In yet another example, as illustrated in FIG. 4C, the first component422 includes the camera 314, the microphone(s) 328, the motion sensor(s)326, the button 306, the light sensor 318, the computer vision module316, the audio codec 320, the speaker(s) 330, the sensor 344, theprocessor(s) 310, the memory 402, and the communication component 312.In this example, the second component 424 may include the battery 342.The battery 342 may provide power to the first component 422 and/or thesecond component 424.

In a further example, as illustrated in FIG. 4D, the first component 422includes the camera 314, the microphone(s) 328, the motion sensor(s)326, the button 306, the light sensor 318, the computer vision module316, the audio codec 320, and the speaker(s) 330. In this example, thesecond component 424 may include the processor(s) 310, the memory 402,the communication component 312, the battery 342, and the sensor 344.The battery 342 may provide power to the first component 422 and/or thesecond component 424.

In some examples, the first component 422 and the second component 424each include memory and one or more processors.

Although not illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4D, in some examples, the A/Vdevice 210 may include a display, such as a touch screen, aliquid-crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, anorganic LED display, a plasma display, an electronic paper display, orany other type of technology. In some examples, the display may beconfigured to display the image data 406 and/or the notification 416.For example, the second component 424 that may attach to an interiorsurface of a barrier may include the display to display the image data406 and/or the notification 416. In another example, the first component422 may include a display to display the image data 406 and/or imagedata of a user located remotely (e.g., a user communicating with anindividual at the user's door).

Further, although not illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4D, in some examples, theA/V device 210 includes a depth sensor (also referred to as a rangesensor) included in the first component 422 and/or the second component424. The depth sensor may implement a variety of techniques to generatedepth data indicating distance to points in an environment. In oneexample, the depth sensor may include a structured-light 3D scanner(e.g., an infrared emitter and infrared camera) to implement astructured-light technique that projects a known pattern (e.g.,structured light) onto a surface and captures image(s). In anotherexample, the depth sensor may include a time-of-fight camera ((ToF)camera) that measures the time-of-flight of a light signal between theToF camera and a target in an environment. In yet other examples, thedepth sensor may implement other techniques, such as sheet of lighttriangulation, stereo triangulation, interferometry, and so on. Asnon-limiting examples, the depth sensor may implement techniques and/orcomponents used by the TrueDepth® camera from Apple®, the RealSense®camera from Intel®, the Kinect® system from Microsoft®, the Hololens®from Microsoft®, the Tango® system from Google®, etc. In some examples,the depth sensor includes the camera 314 to capture image data. Thedepth sensor may generate depth data, such as a range image, depth map,etc.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of thebackend server 224 according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The backend server 224 may comprise processor(s) 502 (whichmay be similar to, and/or include similar functionality as, theprocessor(s) 310), a communication component 504 (which may be similarto, and/or include similar functionality as, the communication component312), and a memory 506 (which may be similar to, and/or include similarfunctionality as, the memory 402). The communication component 504(e.g., network interface) may allow the backend server 224 to access andcommunicate with devices connected to the network (Internet/PSTN) 212(e.g., the A/V device 210, the hub device 202, the client devices 214,216, a device controlled by the security monitoring service 228, thelighting controller 232, the lighting devices 230, etc.).

The memory 402 may include a server application 508 that includesinstructions that cause the processor(s) 502 to receive and/or retrievethe audio data 408, the text data 414, the input data 410, thenotification 416, the image data 406, and/or the motion data 412 fromthe A/V device 210 (e.g., in the output signal 418) and/or the hubdevice 202. The server application 508 may also include instructionsthat cause the processor(s) 502 to transmit (and/or forward) the audiodata 408, the text data 414, the input data 410, the notification 416,the image data 406, and/or the motion data 412 to the client devices214, 216 using the communication component 504.

Although referred to as the backend server 224 with reference to theprocesses described herein, the backend server 224 may additionally, oralternatively, include one or more of the devices from the network(s) ofservers/backend devices 220. For example, the processes described hereinwith respect to the backend server 224 may additionally, oralternatively, at least in part, be performed by one or more backendAPIs 226.

In further reference to FIG. 5, the memory 506 may also include sourceidentifying data 510 that may be used to identify the A/V device 210,the hub device 202, and/or the client devices 214, 216. In addition, thesource identifying data 510 may be used by the processor(s) 502 of thebackend server 224 to determine the client devices 214, 216 areassociated with the A/V device 210 and/or the hub device 202.

In some embodiments, the server application 508 may further includeinstructions that cause the processor(s) 502 to generate and transmit areport signal (not shown) to a third-party client device (e.g.,electronic device(s) 234), which may be associated with a lawenforcement agency or the security monitoring service 228, for example.The report signal, which may be the notification 416, in some examples,may include the image data 406, the audio data 408, and/or the text data414.

In some examples, the server application 508 may include instructionsthat cause the processor(s) 502 to analyze the image data 406 that isreceived from the A/V device 210. For example, the server application508 may include instructions that cause the processor(s) 502 to analyzethe image data 406 in order to determine if the image data 406 depictsan object or surface. Objects or surfaces may include, but are notlimited to, people, animals, vehicles, parcels (e.g., packages),electronic devices (e.g., remote control vehicles, drones, lightingdevices, etc.), bushes, fences, and/or any other type of object that canbe depicted by the image data 406 and/or cause motion that can bedetected by the A/V device 210. In some examples, the processor(s) 502of the backend server 224 may analyze the image data 406 whenever thebackend server 224 receives the image data 406 from the A/V device 210.For ease of discussion, many examples will discuss analyzing the imagedata 406 to detect an object. Although such techniques are applicable tosurfaces as well.

In some examples, to analyze the image data 406, computer visionprocessing and/or image processing, for example, may be performed by theprocessor(s) 502 of the backend server 224 to determine that the imagedata 406 depicts one or more objects. For example, the image data 406generated by the A/V device 210 may be analyzed to determine object data512. In some of the present embodiments, one or more of the image data406, the motion data 412, and the audio data 408 may be used todetermine the object data 512. The computer vision and/or imageprocessing may be executed using computer vision and/or image processingalgorithms. Examples of computer vision and/or image processingalgorithms may include, without limitation, spatial gesture models thatare 3D model-based and/or appearance based. 3D model-based algorithmsmay include skeletal and volumetric, where volumetric may include NURBS,primitives, and/or super-quadrics, for example.

In some embodiments, the processor(s) 502 of the backend server 224 maycompare the object data 512 to an object database 514 to determine what,if any, object(s) the image data 406 depicts in the field of view of theA/V device 210. For example, the object database 514 may store imagedata corresponding to images and/or video footage that depict variousobjects, where the image data may be labeled (e.g., tagged, such as inthe form of metadata) to indicate an object type 516 (alternativelyreferred to herein as the “type of object 516”) depicted by each imageand/or video footage. For a first example, the object database 514 maystore image data depicting a person, where the image data is labeled toindicate that the type of object 516 includes a person. For a secondexample, the object database 514 may store image data depicting ananimal (e.g., a dog, a cat, a coyote, etc.), where the image data islabeled to indicate that the type of object 516 includes the animal(e.g., the dog, the cat, the coyote, etc.). For a third example, theobject database 514 may store image data depicting a vehicle, where theimage data is labeled to indicate the type of object 516 includes thevehicle.

Based on the comparing, the processor(s) 502 of the backend server 224may match the object data 512 from the image data 406 to the image datastored in the object database 514. The processor(s) 502 of the backendserver 224 may then use the match to determine that the object data 512represents an object and/or to determine the type of object 516 that theobject data 512 represents. For example, if the processor(s) 502 of thebackend server 224 matches the object data 512 from the image data 406to image data stored in the object database 514 that represents aperson, then the processor(s) 502 of the backend server 224 maydetermine that the image data 406 depicts an object and/or that theimage data 406 depicts a person. In some examples, when the object data512 represents multiple objects, the processor(s) 502 of the backendserver 224 may perform a similar analysis to identify each objectrepresented by the object data 512 and/or the respective type of object516 associated with each of the objects represented by the object data512.

In some examples, in addition to, or alternatively from, comparing theimage data 406 to the image data stored in the object database 514,features and/or characteristics of various objects may be stored in theobject database 514, and the features and/or characteristics of theobjects in the image data 406 may be determined (e.g., using computervision processing, image processing, or the like) and compared againstthe features and/or characteristics from the object database 514. Forexample, sizes, volumes, weights, colors, movement types, and/or otherfeatures and/or characteristics of various objects may be stored in theobject database 514. The size, volume, weight, color, movement type,and/or other features and/or characteristics of an object depicted bythe image data 406 may then be compared to the sizes, volumes, weights,colors, movement types, and/or other features and/or characteristicsstored in the object database 514 to identify the type of object 516depicted by the image data 406.

Although described as being performed in the backend server 224, in someembodiments, the image data 406 may be analyzed by any of the A/V device210, the hub device 202, and/or the client device 214, 216. Thus, any orall of the operations described herein to analyze the image data 406 maybe performed by any of these devices. To perform these operations, anyor all of these devices may also include the object database 514,including the object type 516, and/or the object data 514, as describedwith reference to FIG. 5.

In some examples, the backend server 224 may receive the sensor data 420from the A/V device 210 and store the sensor data 420 in the memory 506.The server application 508 may analyze the sensor data 420 to detectmore than a threshold amount of movement or vibration of the A/V device210, detect a change in orientation of the A/V device 210, etc. Toillustrate, a threshold amount of movement, vibration, or change inorientation may be detected when the sensor data 420 includesacceleration values from an accelerometer that are greater than athreshold (e.g., indicating that more than a threshold amount ofacceleration occurred), when the sensor data 420 includes orientationand/or angular velocity values from a gyroscope that are greater than athreshold (e.g., indicating that an orientation or angular velocity ofthe A/V device 210 has changed by more than a threshold amount), whenthe sensor data 420 includes values from a magnetometer that indicatemore than a threshold amount of a change in a direction, strength, etc.of a magnetic field, when the sensor data 420 includes noise orvibration values from a glass break detector that are greater than athreshold (e.g., indicating that more than a threshold amount of noiseor vibration was detected), and so on.

In some examples, the server application 508 may detect that a barrierattached to the A/V device 210 has opened or closed. To illustrate, ifthe server application 508 detects that the A/V device 210 has been at arest for more than a threshold amount of time (e.g., based on notreceiving a change in the sensor data 420 or any sensor data 420 at allfrom the A/V device 210), the server application 508 may determine thata door to which the A/V device 210 is attached is closed. Thereafter, ifthe backend server 224 receives additional sensor data 420 indicating athreshold amount of movement, vibration, and/or change in orientation,the server application 508 may determine that the door is being opened.When the movement, vibration, and/or change in orientation ceases (e.g.,the backend server 224 does not receive additional sensor data 420), theserver application 508 may determine that the door is open. Further,when the server application 508 determines movement, vibration, and/orchange in orientation again (e.g., based on receiving additional sensordata 420), the server application 508 may determine that the door isbeing closed.

In some examples, the server application 508 may send the notification416 (e.g., to the client device 214, 216 or another device) when morethan a threshold amount of movement, vibration, or change in orientationof the A/V device 210 is detected. The notification 416 may indicatesuch movement, vibration, or change in orientation. As noted above, insome examples, the notification 416 may include the image data 406, theaudio data 408, the text data 414, and/or the motion data 412. Further,in some examples, the server application 508 may perform otherprocessing when more than a threshold amount of movement, vibration, orchange in orientation of the A/V device 210 is detected. For examples,the server application 508 may send a signal to the A/V device 210 tocause the A/V device 210 to capture the image data 406 (in cases wherethe image data 406 has not already been captured). Additionally, oralternatively, the server application 508 may send a signal to the A/Vdevice 210 and/or a signaling device to cause output of audio.

The hub device 202 and/or the backend server 224 (and/or one or moreadditional or alternative components of the network(s) ofservers/backend devices 220) may be referred to herein as “networkdevices.”

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of thesmart-home hub device 202 (alternatively referred to herein as the “hubdevice 202”) according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Thehub device 202 may be, for example, one or more of a Wi-Fi hub, asmart-home hub, a hub of a home security/alarm system, a gateway device,a hub for a legacy security/alarm system (e.g., a hub for connecting apre-existing security/alarm system to the network (Internet/PSTN) 212for enabling remote control of the hub device 202), and/or anothersimilar device. In some examples, the hub device 202 may include thefunctionality of the VA device 208. The hub device 202 may compriseprocessor(s) 602 (which may be similar to, and/or include similarfunctionality as, the processor(s) 310) that are operatively connectedto speaker(s) 604, microphone(s) 606, a communication component 608(which may be similar to, and/or include similar functionality as, thecommunication component 312), and memory 610 (which may be similar to,and/or include similar functionality as, the memory 402). In someembodiments, the hub device 202 may further comprise a camera (notshown). In some embodiments, the hub device 202 may not include one ormore of the components shown in FIG. 6, such as the speaker(s) 604and/or the microphone(s) 606.

As shown in the example of FIG. 6, the memory 610 stores a smart-homehub application 612. In various embodiments, the smart-home hubapplication 612 may include instructions that cause the processor(s) 602to receive sensor data from the sensors 204 and/or the automationdevices 206. For example, the sensor data may include a current state(e.g., opened/closed for door and window sensors, motion detected formotion sensors, living room lights on/off for a lighting automationsystem, etc.) of each of the sensors 204 and/or the automation devices206. In some embodiments, the sensor data may be received in response tosensor triggers. The sensor triggers may be a door opening/closing, awindow opening/closing, lights being turned on/off, blinds beingopened/closed, etc. As such, the sensor data may include the currentstate of the sensors 204 and/or the automation devices 206 as well asany updates to the current state based on sensor triggers.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the smart-home hub application 612 mayinclude instructions that cause the processor(s) 602 to receive theaudio data 408, the text data 414, the image data 406, the motion data412, the input data 410, the output signal 418, the notification 416,and/or the sensor data 420 from the A/V device 210 (in some embodiments,via the backend server 224) using the communication component 608. Forexample, the hub device 202 may receive and/or retrieve (e.g., afterreceiving a signal from the A/V device 210 that the A/V device 210 hasbeen activated) the image data 406, the input data 410, the motion data412, and/or the sensor data 420 from the A/V device 210 and/or thebackend server 224 in response to motion being detected by the A/Vdevice 210. The smart-hub application 612 may include instructions thatcause the processor(s) 602 to transmit, using the communicationcomponent 608, the audio data 408, the text data 414, the image data406, the motion data 412, the input data 410, the output signal 418,and/or the notification 416 to the client device 214, 216, the backendserver 224, and/or an additional electronic device (e.g., a second A/Vdevice 210, the automation device(s) 206, the sensor(s) 204, etc.).

As described herein, at least some of the processes of the A/V device210, the backend server 224, and/or the client device 214, 216 may beexecuted by the hub device 202. For example, the hub device 202 mayperform any of the operations discussed herein with respect to thebackend server 224.

FIG. 7A is an exploded side views of an example A/V device 210 accordingto various aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, the firstcomponent 422 (sometimes referred to as an “electronic device”), thesecond component 424 (sometimes referred to as an “electronic device”),and the viewer 346 (sometimes referred to as the “third component 346”)have been separated from each other. As illustrated, the viewer 346 mayinclude a first longitudinal axis 702, a first end 704, a second end706, a passage 708, and a first lens 710. The passage 708 may extendbetween the first end 704 and the second end 706 along the firstlongitudinal axis 702. The first lens 710 may be disposed within thepassage 708. Although illustrated with the first lens 710 positioned insubstantially a middle of the viewer 346, the first lens 710 may bepositioned at any location within the passage 708. Further, in someexamples, the first lens 710 may be attached to the first end 704 or thesecond end 706 of the viewer 346. Moreover, in some examples, multiplelenses may be used instead of only the first lens 710. Alternatively,the first lens 710 may be eliminated entirely.

The first component 422 may include a first housing 712 having a firstfront surface 714 (sometimes referred to as a “front portion”) and afirst rear surface 716 (sometimes referred to as a “rear portion”). Thefirst rear surface 716 may abut an exterior surface of a barrier, suchas a door. As such, the first front surface 714 may be spaced from theexterior surface. The first housing 712 may also include a first opening718 extending from the first rear surface 716 into the first housing 712toward the first front surface 714. The first opening 718 may include asecond longitudinal axis 720 that, when the A/V device 210 is installed,is substantially aligned (e.g., coaxial) with the first longitudinalaxis 702. The first housing 712 may include a second lens 722 proximalthe first front surface 714 and defining a base of the first opening718. In this example, the second lens 722 located behind the firstsurface 714. However, in other examples, the second lens 722 may lie ona same plane as the first surface 714, protrude outward from the firstsurface 714, or otherwise be arranged differently than as shown. FIG. 7Aalso illustrates the button 306 and the camera 314 included with thefirst component 422.

The second component 424 may include a second housing 724 having asecond front surface 726 and a second rear surface 728. The second rearsurface 728 may abut an interior surface of the barrier. As such, thesecond front surface 726 may be spaced from the interior surface of thebarrier. The second housing 724 may include a second opening 730extending from the second rear surface 728 into the second housing 724toward the second front surface 726. The second opening 730 may includea third longitudinal axis 732 that, when the A/V device 210 isinstalled, is substantially aligned (e.g., coaxial) with the firstlongitudinal axis 702.

The first lens 710 and/or the second lens 722 may comprise a door viewer(e.g., to allow a user to view from an inside of the barrier to anoutside of the barrier). The second lens 722 may be implemented as avariety of types of lenses, such as an ultra-wide-angle lens (e.g., afisheye lens with an angle of view greater than 100 degrees, between 100and 180 degrees, greater than 200 degrees, etc.), a wide-angle lens(e.g., with an angle of view between 64 and 84 degrees, greater than 60degrees, etc.), or any other lens that may or may not be wide-angle.

The A/V device 210 may also include the flexible connector 426electrically and communicatively coupling the first component 422 to thesecond component 424. The flexible connector 426 may extend from thefirst component 422 to the second component 424 through an opening in abarrier. As noted above, the flexible connector 426 may be a wire, acable (e.g., USB cable, HDMI cable, power cable, etc.), flexibleelectronics (e.g., a flex printed circuit board (PCB)), and so on. Theflexible connector 426 may include a first coupler 734 for connection toa first connection port 736 on the first component 422 and a secondcoupler 738 for connection to a second connection port 740 on the secondcomponent 424. The first coupler 734, the second coupler 738, the firstconnection port 736, and/or the second connection port 740 may beimplemented in a variety of manners, such as through a 20-pinconnection, a 24-pin connection, an n-pin connection, a USB connection,etc.

FIG. 7B is another exploded side view of the A/V device 210. Inparticular, the first component 422, the second component 424, and theviewer 346 have been separated from each other. Here, a front portion712(A) of the first housing 712 is removed from a rear portion 712(B) ofthe first housing 712 and a front portion 724(A) of the second housing724 is removed from a rear portion 724(B) of the second housing 724.

As illustrated, the viewer 346 may include the first longitudinal axis702 with the first lens 710 disposed within the passage 708. Here, theviewer 346 comprises an elongated tubular member 347. The second lens722 may be detachably coupled to a first part 742 of the viewer 346. Inthis example, the second lens 722 includes female threading and thefirst part 742 of the viewer 346 includes male threading, although inother embodiments the threading may be reversed. Further, the fastener428 may be detachably coupled to a second part 744 of the viewer 346. Inthis example, the fastener 428 includes female threading and the secondpart 744 of the viewer 346 includes male threading, although in otherembodiments the threading may be reversed.

The first component 422 may include the first housing 712 having thefirst opening 718 (also referred to as “second passage 718”) extendingthrough the first component 712 (e.g., through the rear portion 712(B)of the first housing 712) along the second longitudinal axis 720. Thefirst component 422 may be removably secured to the viewer 346 suchthat, when the A/V device 210 is installed, the second longitudinal axis720 is substantially aligned (e.g., coaxial) with the first longitudinalaxis 702 of the viewer 346 and/or the second lens 722 defines a base ofthe first opening 718. In some examples, at least a portion of theviewer 346 extends into the first opening 718. For example, at least thefirst part 742 of the viewer 346 may extend into the first opening 718to attach to the second lens 722 within the first opening 718.

As illustrated, a gasket 746 may be detachably coupled between thesecond lens 722 and the first housing 712. In particular, the gasket 746may be part of the second lens 722, placed over the second lens 722,and/or placed on the rear portion 712(B) of the first housing 712. Thegasket 746 may provide a seal to prevent water or other substances fromtraveling into the viewer 346. In some examples, the gasket 746comprises a resilient O-ring. As shown, the second lens 722 may includea passage 748 extending through substantially a center of the secondlens 722. When the second lens 722 is attached to the viewer 346, thepassage 748 may be aligned (e.g., coaxial) with the passage 708 of theviewer 346.

With continued reference to FIG. 7B, the second component 424 mayinclude the second housing 724 having the second opening 730 (alsoreferred to as “second passage 730”) extending through the secondcomponent 724 (e.g., through the rear portion 724(B) of the secondhousing 724) along the third longitudinal axis 732. The second component424 may be removably secured to the viewer 346 such that, when the A/Vdevice 210 is installed, the third longitudinal axis 732 issubstantially aligned (e.g., coaxial) with the first longitudinal axis702 of the viewer 346. In some examples, at least a portion of theviewer 346 extends into the second opening 730. For example, the secondpart 744 of the viewer 346 may extend into the second opening 730 toattach to the fastener 428 within the second opening 730. Asillustrated, the fastener 428 may include a passage 750 extendingthrough substantially a center of the fastener 428. When the fastener428 is attached to the viewer 346, the passage 750 may be aligned (e.g.,coaxial) with the passage 708 of the viewer 346.

In some examples, the viewer 346 includes a substantially flat portion752 extending along the first longitudinal axis 702 over at least aportion of the viewer 346. For example, when viewed in cross-section,the perimeter of the viewer 346 may not be entirely circular, but mayinstead include a flattened segment. The flat portion 752 may extendalong a bottom portion of the viewer 346 with reference to theorientation illustrated in FIG. 7B. The flat portion 752 may provide apath that allows the flexible connector 426 to be positioned within ahole in a door along with the viewer 346. That is, the flat portion 752may provide room for the flexible connector 426 to be positioned belowthe viewer 346 within the hole. The flexible connector 426 may extendalong an outside of the viewer 346 and electrically couple the firstcomponent 422 and the second component 424 to one another.

In some examples, the second opening 730 of the second component 424engages or is secured to an outer surface of a portion of the viewer346. For example, an inner surface of the second opening 730 may engageor be secured to an outer surface of the viewer 346 (e.g., the secondpart 744), such as with mating threads. Further, an inner surface of thefirst opening 718 may engage or be secured to an outer surface of aportion of the viewer 346 (e.g., the first part 742), such as withmating threads.

FIG. 7C is another exploded side view of the example A/V device 210according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Here, the A/Vdevice 210 includes a second gasket 754 to attach between the secondcomponent 424 and a barrier, and a first gasket 756 to attach betweenthe first component 422 and the barrier. As illustrated, the gaskets754, 756 may include openings 758, 760 to allow the viewer 346 to passthrough. In examples, the gasket(s) 754 and/or 756 may protect thebarrier, provide grip to enable the A/V device 210 to maintain aninstalled position, seal out water or other substances, etc. Thegasket(s) 754, 756 may comprise a high-friction material that providesgrip to resist movement of the A/V device 210 relative to the barrier.In various embodiments, the gaskets 754, 756 may comprise rubber,silicone, various plastics, etc.

FIG. 8 illustrates the viewer 346 connected to the fastener 428 and thesecond lens 722. As illustrated, the fastener 428 and the second lens722 have each been screwed onto the viewer 346, although in otherembodiments other types of securing mechanisms may be used besidesthreading. As shown, the viewer 346 includes the flat portion 752 whichmay or may not have threading. In the example of FIG. 8, the flatportion 752 does not include threading. In examples, the flexibleconnector 426 may extend along an outside of the viewer 346 adjacent tothe flat portion 752.

An inner surface 802 of a flange 803 around a circumference of thesecond lens 722 may contact the first component 422, such as the rearportion 712(B) of the first housing 712, when the viewer 346 is securedto the first component 422. Similarly, an inner surface 804 around acircumference of the fastener 428 may contact the second component 424,such as the rear portion 724(B) of the second housing 724, when theviewer 346 is secured to the second component 424. When the second lens722 and/or the fastener 428 are tightened onto the viewer 346, thesurface 802 may contact the rear portion 712(B) of the first housing 712and the surface 804 may contact the rear portion 724(B) of the secondhousing 724 to secure the A/V device 210 to a barrier.

FIG. 9A illustrates a portion of the viewer 346 (e.g., a shaft). In thisexample, the flat portion 752 extends along the entire length of theviewer 346, although in other examples the flat portion 752 may extendalong only a portion of the length of the viewer 346, such as along amiddle section of the viewer 346. As noted above, the first part 742 ofthe viewer 346 includes first threading configured to detachably coupleto second threading on the second lens 722. Further, the second part 744of the viewer 346 includes third threading configured to detachablycouple to fourth threading on the fastener 428.

FIG. 9B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the viewer 346 taken alongthe section line 9B-9B in FIG. 9A. As illustrated, the viewer 346includes the passage 708 extending along the first longitudinal axis 702(traveling into and out of the page). A profile shape of thecross-section of the viewer 346 (e.g., taken perpendicular to the firstlongitudinal axis 702) includes a rounded portion 904 of the wall (e.g.,being circular) and the flat portion 752 of the wall. As illustrated, aninterior wall 906 of the viewer 346 may include a similar shape.

FIG. 10A illustrates the second lens 722, which is removably attachableto the first part 742 of the viewer 346. As illustrated, an interiorportion of the second lens 722 may include threading 1002, such as maleor female threading, to attach to the first part 742 of the viewer 346.

FIG. 10B illustrates the fastener 428, which is removably attachable tothe second part 744 of the viewer 346. As illustrated, an interiorportion of the fastener 428 may include threading 1004, such as male orfemale threading, to attach to the second part 744 of the viewer 346.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate front views of the first component 422 ofthe A/V device 210. FIG. 11A illustrates a front view of the firstcomponent 422 with a cover 1102 disposed over the second lens 722 andthe camera 314. The cover 1102 may be transparent, semi-transparent,etc., and protects the second lens 722, the camera 314, and/or otherinternal components of the first component 422. The cover 1102 may beformed of plastic, glass, metal, etc. In some examples, the cover 1102is part of the first housing 712, while in other examples the cover 1102is a separate component.

FIG. 11B illustrates a front view of the first component 422 with thecover 1102 of FIG. 11A removed to show the second lens 722, the camera314, the microphone(s) 328, the light emitting components 340 (e.g.,infrared lights), and the light sensor 318 (e.g., capable of detectingambient light).

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate tabs 1202 to assist in installing the A/Vdevice 210. FIG. 12A illustrates a top view of the first component 422or the second component 424 and the viewer 346 with the tabs 1202 at ajunction between the viewer 346 and the first component 422 or thesecond component 424. FIG. 12B illustrates a side view of the firstcomponent 422 or the second component 424 and the viewer 346 with thetabs 1202 at a junction between the viewer 346 and the first component422 or the second component 424. The tabs 1202 may hold the firstcomponent 422 or the second component 424 and the viewer 346 within anopening in a barrier. To illustrate, when installing the A/V device 210,a user may attach the viewer 346 to the tabs 1202 and to the firstcomponent 422. The viewer 346 may then be inserted within the opening inthe barrier, so that the tabs 1202 contact an inner surface of theopening and hold the combined first component 422 and viewer 346 inplace (e.g., without falling out of the opening). The user may move tothe other side of the barrier to connect the second component 424 to thesecond part 744 of the viewer 346 by using the fastener(s) 428, forexample. In examples, the tabs 1202 have a wedge shape and engage theopening in the barrier in a friction fit to resist movement of the firstcomponent 422 and the second component 424 relative to the barrier.Although discussed as tabs, in other examples the tabs 1202 may be othertypes of fasteners, such as flanges, clamps, etc. Moreover, the firstcomponent 422 and the viewer 346 may be held to the barrier in othermanners, such as with an adhesive.

In some examples, a sleeve (e.g., shaft) is used instead of (or inaddition to) the tabs 1202. The sleeve may slide into a barrier and theviewer 346 may slide into the sleeve.

FIG. 13A illustrates a front view of the second component 424 with acover 1302 disposed over the fastener 428 and/or over the second opening730, the passage 708 of the viewer 346, etc. The cover 1302 may beproximate the second front surface 726. The cover 1302 may betransparent, semi-transparent, solid, etc. For example, the cover 1302may include a non-transparent portion 1304 illustrated withcross-hatching to cover the fastener 428 and other components within thesecond component 424. The non-transparent portion 1304 may provide anaesthetically pleasing appearance for the second component 424. Further,the cover 1302 may include a transparent (or semi-transparent) portion1306, so that a user may look through the passage 708 in the viewer 346(e.g., look through a door viewer implemented by the viewer 346). Thecover 1302 may be formed of plastic, glass, metal, etc. In someexamples, the cover 1302 is part of the second housing 724, while inother examples the cover 1304 is a separate component. FIG. 13Billustrates a front view of the second component 424 with the cover 1302of FIG. 13A removed.

Although the cover 1302 is illustrated, in many examples the A/V device210 does not include the cover 1302. For example, the second housing 724may be formed of one or more pieces that do not include the cover 1302.Here, the second housing 724 may cover the internal components of thesecond component 424.

FIG. 14A illustrates an example of the rear portion 724(B) of the secondhousing 724 with the front portion 724(A) of the second housing 724removed. In particular, FIG. 14A illustrates the battery 342, theflexible connector 426, the second coupler 738 of the flexible connector426, a fastening portion 1402, and a slack receiving portion1404(A)/1404(B). The fastening portion 1402 (e.g., a recess) may beconfigured to receive the fastener 428 when the viewer 346 is positionedthrough the second opening 730 and the fastener 428 is coupled to theviewer 346. As illustrated, the fastening portion 1402 is part of aninternal portion of the second component 424 (e.g., part of the rearportion 724(B) of the second housing 724).

The slack receiving portion 1404(A)/1404(B) may receive excess length(e.g., slack) in the flexible connector 426. For example, the flexibleconnector 426 may be manufactured with a relatively long length toaccommodate various door thicknesses. If an entirety of the flexibleconnector 426 is not needed for an installation (e.g., the length of theflexible connector 426 is substantially longer than the thickness of thedoor), then there may be excess length in the flexible connector 426(e.g., the installation may yield excess length in the flexibleconnector 426). Such excess is often referred to as a service loop. Theslack receiving portion 1404(A)/1404(B) may receive and/or secure theservice loop of the flexible connector 426. In this example, the slackreceiving portion 1404(A)/1404(B) includes a channel 1404(A) that mayreceive a variable length of the flexible connector 426 and a tab1404(B) to secure the service loop.

FIG. 14B illustrates the rear portion 724(B) of the second housing 724without the flexible connector 426, such that the second connection port740 is visible. The second connection port 740 may connect to the secondcoupler 738 of the flexible connector 426. The second connection port740 may be implemented in a variety of manners, such as through a 20-pinconnection, a 24-pin connection, an n-pin connection, a USB connection,etc.

FIG. 14C illustrates the rear portion 724(B) of the second housing 724with the fastener 428 attached. Here, the flexible connector 426 hasbeen pulled through a door, and excess in the flexible connector 426 issecured with the slack receiving portion 1404(A)/1404(B). Asillustrated, the passage 750 in the fastener 428 provides a viewablepassage to the passage 708 in the viewer 346.

FIG. 15 illustrates another example of the rear portion 724(B) of thesecond housing 724 with the front portion 724(A) of the second housing724 removed. Here, the second connection port 740, the second opening730, and the battery 342 are illustrated. In this example, the slackreceiving portion 1404 includes a tab to adjust tension on the flexibleconnector 426 (not illustrated in FIG. 15). For example, the flexibleconnector 426 may be pulled through or around the tab 1404 to tightenthe tension on the flexible connector 426 once the A/V device 210 isinstalled on a barrier (e.g., with the flexible connector 426 extendingthrough an opening in the barrier). The second coupler 738 of theflexible connector 426 may then be connected to the second connectionport 740. As noted above, in some examples, the flexible connector 426may be implemented with a relatively long length to accommodatedifferent thicknesses of barriers (e.g., different installationconfigurations). In other words, the flexible connector 426 may includemore length than is needed to travel through openings in some barriers.As such, the tab 1404 may allow slack (e.g., excess length) in theflexible connector 426 to be removed by tightening through or around thetab 1404.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example service loop 426(A) of the flexibleconnector 426. Here, various surfaces of the rear portion 724(B) of thesecond housing 724 have been removed to show the service loop 426(A) asit would be secured within the slack receiving portion 1404 of FIG. 14Aor FIG. 14C (e.g., within a channel). As illustrated, the second opening730 of the second component 424 includes a flat portion 730(A) (e.g.,recess) to receive the flexible connector 426.

FIG. 17 illustrates another example service loop 426(A) of the flexibleconnector 426 secured within the rear portion 724(B) of the secondhousing 724. In this example, the fastener 428 is connected to theviewer 346 and the flexible connector 426 is positioned below the viewer346 (e.g., along the flat portion 752 of the viewer 346). As shown, theflexible connector 426 extends through the second opening 730, aroundthe fastener 428, and connects to the second connection port 740.

FIG. 18A illustrates the second gasket 754 attached to the secondcomponent 424, and FIG. 18B illustrates the first gasket 756 attached tothe first component 422. In examples, the gasket(s) 754 and/or 756 mayprotect the A/V device 210, provide grip to enable the A/V device 210 tomaintain an installed position, seal out water or other substances, etc.The gasket(s) 754 and/or 756 may comprise a high-friction material thatprovides grip to resist movement of the A/V device 210 relative to thebarrier. In various embodiments, the gasket(s) 754 and/or 756 maycomprise rubber, silicone, various plastics, etc.

In the examples of FIGS. 18A-18B, the gasket(s) 754 and/or 756 compriseribbed portions (e.g., portions with raised bands). For example, thesecond gasket 754 may include a ribbed portion 754(A) that extendsaround a perimeter of the second gasket 754. Further, the first gasket756 may include a first ribbed portion 756(A) that extends around aperimeter of the first gasket 756 and a second ribbed portion 756(B)that extends around the opening 760 in the first gasket 756. Althoughillustrated as ribbed components, the gasket(s) 754 and/or 756 may notbe ribbed and/or may include other texture.

FIGS. 19A-19M illustrate various aspects of securing an example flexibleconnector 426 to the second component 424. FIG. 19A illustrates anexample of the rear portion 724(B) of the second housing 724 with thefront portion 724(A) of the second housing 724 removed. In particular,FIG. 19A illustrates the battery 342, the flexible connector 426, anexcess connector receiving portion 1902, a connector holder 1904, and atab 1906. As shown, the flexible connector 426 may extend around theconnector holder 1904 and the tab 1906. In examples, the flexibleconnector 426 may include excess length to allow the flexible connector426 to be installed in barriers of various thicknesses. Duringinstallation, the tab 1906 may be pulled (e.g. in a downward directionwith respect to FIG. 19A) to pull the excess length through the barrier,creating the excess connector receiving portion 1902 (e.g., a serviceloop). The tab 1906 and/or the connector holder 1904 may be attached tothe rear portion 724(B) of the second housing 724 to secure the excessconnector receiving portion 1902. For example, the connector holder 1904may be attached to the flexible connector 426 and removably attachableto a first end 1908(A) of a channel 1908 on the rear portion 724(B) ofthe second housing 724. The tab 1906 may removably attach to a secondend 1908(B) of the channel 1908. As such, the excess connector portion1902 (e.g., a service loop of the flexible connector 426) may beretained within the channel 1908 when the connector holder 1904 isattached to the first end 1908(A) of the channel 1908 and the tab 1906is attached to the second end 1908(B) of the channel 1908. A length ofthe channel 1908 may accommodate a length of the service loop when theflexible connector 426 is extended in an installed state.

In some examples, a Quick Response (QR) code, barcode, or other type ofmarker may be placed at a location 1910 (e.g., with a sticker, printed,etc.). A user may scan the marker with a camera of a mobile device, forexample, and be directed to content that enables the user to install theA/V device 210, such as a website, application, etc.

FIG. 19B illustrates an example of the rear portion 724(B) with aportion of the rear portion 724(B) that is illustrated in FIG. 19Aremoved to show how the flexible connector 426 is positioned in the A/Vdevice 210 (e.g., in an installed and tightened position). Asillustrated, the flexible connector 426 may include the first coupler734 for connection to the first connection port 736 on the firstcomponent 422 (not illustrated in FIG. 19B). FIG. 19C illustrates anexample of the rear portion 724(B) with components that are illustratedin FIG. 19B removed to show how the flexible connector 426 is positionedin the A/V device 210 (e.g., in an installed and tightened position).

FIG. 19D illustrates a first view of the flexible connector 426, theconnector holder 1904, and the tab 1906 (e.g., removed from the rearportion 724(B)). FIG. 19E illustrates a second view of the flexibleconnector 426, the connector holder 1904, and the tab 1906 to show thefirst coupler 734 and the second coupler 738. As noted above, the firstcoupler 734 may connect to the first component 422 and the secondcoupler 738 may connect to the second component 424.

FIG. 19F illustrates a front view of the tab 1906. The tab 1906 mayinclude an opening 1906(A), such as a slot, to receive the flexibleconnector 426 (not illustrated in FIG. 19F). The flexible connector 426may be pulled through the opening 1906(A) during installation to removeexcess length in the flexible connector 426. The tab 1906 may alsoinclude detents (e.g., protrusions) 1906(B). The detents 1906(B) mayenable the tab 1906 to engage the channel 1908 in the rear portion724(B) of the second housing 724, as discussed in further detail below.Although four detents 1906(B) are illustrated in FIG. 19F, any number ofdetents may be used.

FIG. 19G illustrates a side view of the connector holder 1904. Theconnector holder 1904 has a first portion 1904(A) that extends in afirst direction and a second portion 1904(B) that extends from the firstportion 1904(A) such that the second portion 1904(B) extends in a seconddirection transverse to the first direction, such as in a perpendicularmanner.

FIG. 19H illustrates a perspective view of the connector holder 1904. Asillustrated, the connector holder 1904 includes an opening 1912 wherethe second coupler 738 of the flexible connector 426 may protrudethrough, as shown in FIG. 19E. As such, the first portion 1904(A) of theconnector holder 1904 may attach to the second coupler 738 of theflexible connector 426, again as shown in FIG. 19E.

FIG. 19I illustrates example details of the channel 1908 of the rearportion 724(B) of the second housing 724 taken from a first exampleperspective view. In particular, FIG. 19I illustrates a detail view of aportion 1914 of the rear portion 724(B). As illustrated, the first end1908(A) of the channel 1908 may include the second connection port 740to connect to the second coupler 738 of the flexible connector 426. Thatis, the second housing 724 may include the second connection port 740 toconnect to the second coupler 738 (FIG. 19E). The channel 1908 may alsoinclude an undercut 1916 just beneath first and second opposite ledges1917, and the undercut 1916 and ledges 1917 may engage with the tab 1906(e.g., to engage with the detents 1906(B)). For example, the tab 1906may seat within the channel 1908 in a friction fit engagement with thedetents 1906(B) seating within the undercut 1916 just beneath the ledges1917. The tab 1906, including the detents 1906(B), engages the channel1908 in a friction fit to resist any upward movement of the tab 1906within the channel 1908, thereby maintaining a slight tension in theflexible connector 426 that resists relaxation of the flexible connector426, which might otherwise create slack and/or bowing in the flexibleconnector 426. Further, when the tab 1906 is pressed into the channel1908 during the process of installing the A/V device 210, the tab 1906may “snap” into the channel 1908 as the detents 1906(B) seat within theundercut 1916 (e.g., because a width of the tab 1906 as measured acrossthe detents 1906(B) may be slightly greater than a width of the channel1908 as measured across the ledges 1917). In this example, the undercut1916 may extend along a majority of a length of the channel 1908 (e.g.,more than 50% of the length of the channel 1908). In other examples, theundercut 1916 may be shorter or longer in length.

FIG. 19J illustrates further example details of the channel 1908 of therear portion 724(B) of the second housing 724 taken from a secondexample perspective view. In particular, FIG. 19J illustrates a view ofa portion 1918 of the rear portion 724(B) to further illustrate detailsof the undercut 1916 and the ledges 1917.

FIGS. 19K-19L illustrate the tubular member 347 and the flexibleconnector 426 during an example installation process. In particular,FIGS. 19K-19L illustrate how the flexible connector 426 may bepositioned partly within tubular member 347 to facilitate inserting theflexible connector 426 into an opening in a barrier. In this example,the tubular member 347 is illustrated within a tube 1920 that representsthe opening in the barrier. The flexible connector 426 may extend alongthe tubular member 347 in a space between the tubular member 347 and thetube 1920, where the space between the tubular member 347 and the tube1920 is partially bounded by the flat portion 752 of the tubular member347. FIG. 19K illustrates the connector holder 1904 inserted within anopening at the first end 347(A) of the tubular member 347, while FIG.19L illustrates the connector holder 1904 removed from the first end347(A) of tubular member 347.

With reference to FIG. 19L, in examples, an outer shape of the firstportion 1904(A) of the connector holder 1904 may substantiallycorrespond to an inner shape of the passage 708 of the viewer 346. Inone example, the inner shape of the passage 708 may be circular and oneor more of the outer surfaces of the first portion 1904(A) may berounded to fit within the circular passage 708. In another example, theinner shape of the passage 708 may be rectangular and the first portion1904(A) may be rectangular to fit within the rectangular passage 708. Inexamples, the first portion 1904(A) (and/or the second portion 1904(B))may have a width, thickness, diameter, etc. that is the same as or lessthan a width, diameter, etc. of the inner surface of the passage 708.Further, in examples, the first portion 1904(A) may engage with thepassage 708 in a friction fit engagement to maintain the connectorholder 1904 in the viewer 346 during installation.

In examples, during installation, the connector holder 1904 may bedisposed within the passage 708 in the viewer 346, as shown in FIG. 19K,with the second coupler 738 of the flexible connector 426 attached tothe connector holder 1904, as shown in FIG. 19E. Then, the viewer 346may be inserted into an opening (represented by the tube 1920 in FIG.19K) in a barrier. This aspect of the present embodiments allows theflexible connector 426 to be passed through the opening in the barrierwithout being damaged. Once inserted, the connector holder 1904 may beremoved from the viewer 346, as illustrated in FIG. 19L, and the secondcoupler 738 housed within the connector holder 1904 (FIG. 19E) may beconnected to the second connection port 740 (FIG. 19I). The tab 1906 maythen be pulled down to tighten any slack in the flexible connector 426,and the tab 1906 may then be snapped into the channel 1908 of the rearportion 724(B), as illustrated in FIG. 19A, with the detents 1906(B)seating within the undercut 1916 (FIG. 19I). An example process formounting the A/V device 210 on a barrier is described in further detailbelow.

FIG. 19M illustrates the A/V device 210 with the flexible connector 426attached between the first component 422 and the second component 424.In particular, the flexible connector 426 is positioned below, andextending along the flat portion 752 of, the viewer 346. FIG. 19Millustrates how the flexible connector 426 and the viewer 346 may bearranged when installed within an opening in a barrier (omitted fromFIG. 19M for clarity). As illustrated, the flexible connector 426 may bepulled to be substantially taut by pulling downward on the tab 1906 asdescribed above.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of the fastener 428 that attaches to thesecond part 744 of the viewer 346. In particular, the viewer 346 mayextend into and/or be connected to the first component 422. Threads onthe second part 744 of the viewer 346 may receive the fastener 428. Thefastener 428 is implemented as a nut in this example. As one example ofinstallation, the first component 422 (with the viewer 346 attached) maybe placed in contact with an exterior of a barrier by sliding the viewer346 through an opening in the barrier. The second component 424 may thenbe slid onto the second part 744 of the viewer 346. The fastener 428 maythen be placed on the second part 744 of the viewer 346 and tightened.Tightening the fastener 428 may cause the first component 422, which islocated on one side of the barrier, and the second component 346, whichis located on the other side of the barrier, to clamp to the barrier.

In some examples, the A/V device 210 may include different sized viewers346 and/or an extender that attaches to the viewer 346 in order toaccount for different thicknesses of barriers, different diameters ofopenings in barriers, etc. For example, the A/V device 210 may bedistributed (e.g., sold) with multiple viewers 346 that are differentlengths and/or diameters. A user may remove an existing door viewer andinstall the viewer 346 that is sized for that particular installation(e.g., extends through a barrier).

Although many examples are discussed in the context of using the viewer346, in some examples the A/V device 210 may be implemented without theviewer 346. For example, an existing door viewer may be left in a door,and the first component 422 and the second component 424 may beinstalled and aligned to the existing door viewer, so that a user maycontinue to use the existing door viewer and implement the functionalityof the A/V device 210. Here, the A/V device 210 may be attached to thebarrier with fasteners, adhesive, etc.

Moreover, in some examples, the A/V device 210 may be implementedwithout a door viewer. To illustrate, the first component 422 may beattached to a first side of a barrier and the second component 424 maybe attached to a second side of the barrier (using the viewer 346through an opening in the barrier or without the viewer 346). Here, thefirst component 422 may capture image data and display the image data ona display on the second component 424. This configuration may allow auser to view what is occurring on the first side of the barrier withoutopening the barrier.

FIG. 21 illustrates the A/V device 210 implemented with a beam splitter2102. The beam splitter 2102 is configured to split light 2104 receivedfrom the first lens 710 of the viewer 346 into a first beam of light2106 and a second beam of light 2108. As illustrated, a camera 2110 maybe aligned to receive the first beam of light 2106 (e.g., an imagesensor of the camera 2110 may be aligned to receive the first beam oflight 2106). The camera 2110 may comprise the camera 314 or anadditional camera (e.g., a second camera in addition to the camera 314,which may be positioned on the first component 422). The secondcomponent 424 may also include a third lens 2112 aligned to receive thesecond beam of light 2108 (e.g., a longitudinal axis of the third lens2112 may be aligned to the third longitudinal axis 732 (FIG. 7B)). Thethird lens 2112, the first lens 710, and/or the second lens 722 may forma door viewer. The beam splitter 2102 may comprise a variety ofmaterials, such as glass, plastic, etc. In some examples, the beamsplitter 2102 comprises a cube made of two triangular prisms. In anotherexample, the beam splitter 2102 may comprise a sheet of glass or plasticwith a thin coating of metal. The beam splitter 2102 may cause somelight to pass through in a direction in which it entered and some lightto be reflected.

Each of the processes described herein, including the processes 2200,2300, 2400, and 2500 are illustrated as a collection of blocks in alogical flow graph, which represent a sequence of operations that may beimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In thecontext of software, the blocks represent computer-executableinstructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that,when executed by one or more processors, perform the recited operations.Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs,objects, components, data structures, and the like that performparticular functions or implement particular abstract data types. Theorder in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks may becombined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the processes.Additionally, any number of the described blocks may be optional andeliminated to implement the processes.

Now referring to FIG. 22, FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a process2200 for providing image data, audio data, and/or a notificationregarding motion, vibration, movement, and/or a change in orientation atan A/V device. The process 2200, at block B2202, includes receiving asignal from a sensor. For example, the one or more processors 310 of theA/V device 210 may receive a signal from the sensor 344. As noted above,the sensor 344 may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, amagnetometer, and/or a glass break detector. In some examples, thesignal may include the sensor data 420.

The process 2200, at block B2204, includes determining that the signalis indicative of movement, vibration, and/or change in orientation. Forexample, the A/V device 210 may determine that the signal (and/or thesensor data 420 included in the signal) is indicative of a thresholdamount of movement, vibration, and/or change in orientation of the A/Vdevice 210. Such determination may indicate that a barrier to which theA/V device 210 may be attached has been moved (e.g., opened, closed,etc.), impacted (e.g., a knock on a door, contact from an object, etc.),etc.

The process 2200, at block B2206, includes receiving data from a motionsensor and/or input from a button. For example, the one or moreprocessors 310 of the A/V device 210 may receive the motion data 412from the motion sensor(s) 326 and/or the input data 410 from the button306. The process 2200, at block B2208, includes generating audio datausing a microphone. For example, the microphone(s) 328 of the A/V device210 may generate the audio data 408 in response to receiving sound.

The process 2200, at block B2210, includes determining that a valuerepresented in the audio data exceeds a threshold value. For example,the A/V device 210 may determine that a value represented in the audiodata 408 exceeds a threshold value. This may include determining that anamplitude of an audio signal, sound indicator (indicating a loudness ofa sound, such as on a scale of one to ten), decibel measurement, etc. isgreater than or otherwise exceeds a threshold value, such as apredetermined threshold value. In some examples, the A/V device 210 maydetect more than a threshold amount of sound.

The process 2200, at block B2212, includes activating a camera and/orthe microphone. For example, the one or more processors 310 of the A/Vdevice 210 may activate the camera 314 and/or the microphone(s) 328based on determining that the signal is indicative of movementvibration, and/or a change in orientation of the A/V device 210 at blockB2204, receiving data from the motion sensor(s) 326 and/or the button306 at block B2206, and/or determining that the value represented in theaudio data 408 exceeds the threshold value at block B2210.

The process 2200, at block B2214, includes generating image data usingthe camera. For example, the A/V device 210 may generate, using thecamera 314, the image data 406 based on activating the camera 314 atblock B2212. The process 2200, at block B2216, includes generating audiodata using the microphone. For example, the A/V device 210 may generate,using the microphone(s) 328, the audio data 408 based on activating themicrophone(s) 328 at block B2212.

The process 2200, at block B2218, includes sending the image data, theaudio data, and/or a notification. For example, the A/V device 210 maysend the image data 406, the audio data 408, and/or the notification 416to the client device 214, 216, the backend server 224, the hub device202, and/or any other device. In some examples, the notification 416 mayindicate movement, vibration, and/or a change in orientation of the A/Vdevice 210. Further, in some examples, the notification 416 may indicatethat motion was detected at the A/V device 210. Moreover, in someexamples, the notification 416 may indicated that the value representedin the audio data 408 exceeds the threshold value.

The process 2200, at block B2220, includes causing audio to be output.For example, the A/V device 210 may cause audio to be output via thespeaker(s) 330 of the A/V device 210. Additionally, or alternatively,the A/V device 210 may send a signal to a signaling device to cause thesignaling device to output audio (e.g., through a speaker on thesignaling device or otherwise).

Now referring to FIG. 23, FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a process2300 for detecting movement, vibration, and/or change in orientation ofan A/V device and providing data regarding such detection. The process2300, at block B2302, includes receiving data generated by a sensor ofan A/V device. For example, the backend server 224 and/or the hub device202 may receive the sensor data 420 from the A/V device 210. The process2300, at block B2304, includes receiving image data and/or audio data.For example, the backend server 224 and/or the hub device 202 mayreceive the image data 406 and/or the audio data 408 from the A/V device210.

The process 2300, at block B2306, includes analyzing the data. Forexample, the backend server 224 and/or the hub device 202 may analyzethe sensor data 420 and/or the audio data 408. For example, the analysismay determine that the sensor data 420 includes acceleration values froman accelerometer that are more than a threshold amount, the sensor data420 includes orientation and/or angular velocity values from a gyroscopethat are more than a threshold amount, the sensor data 420 includesvalues from a magnetometer that have changed by more than a thresholdamount (e.g., in comparison to previous values), the sensor data 420includes noise or vibration values from a glass break detector that aremore than a threshold amount, the audio data 408 indicates more than athreshold amount of sound, and so on.

The process 2300, at block B2308, includes detecting a threshold amountof movement, vibration, and/or change in orientation. For example, basedon the analysis at block B2306, the backend server 224 and/or the hubdevice 202 may detect a threshold amount of movement, vibration, and/orchange in orientation of the A/V device 210. The process 2300, at blockB2310, includes generating a notification. For example, the backendserver 224 and/or the hub device 202 may generate the notification 416based on the detecting at block B2306. In some examples, thenotification 416 indicates movement, vibration, and/or change inorientation of the A/V device 210.

The process 2300, at block B2312, includes sending the image data, theaudio data, and/or the notification. For example, the backend server 224and/or the hub device 202 may send the image data 406, the audio data408, and/or the notification 416 to the client device 214, 216 and/orany other device. In some examples, the notification 416 may indicatemovement, vibration, and/or a change in orientation of the A/V device210. Further, in some examples, the notification 416 may indicate thatmotion was detected at the A/V device 210.

The process 2300, at block B2314, includes causing audio to be output.For example, the backend server 224 and/or the hub device 202 may causeaudio to be output via the speaker(s) 330 of the A/V device 210 (e.g.,by sending a signal to the A/V device 210). Additionally, oralternatively, the backend server 224 and/or the hub device 202 may senda signal to a signaling device to cause the signaling device to outputaudio (e.g., through a speaker on the signaling device or otherwise).

FIG. 24 is a signal diagram of a process 2400 for streaming and storingA/V content from the A/V device 210 according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. The network device 2402 may include one or more ofthe hub device 202, the VA device 208, and/or any of the components ofthe network(s) of servers/backend devices 220 (e.g., the backend server224, the backend API 226, the storage devices 222, etc.).

The process 2400, at block B2404, includes detecting an object in afield of view of a camera and/or a field of view of a motion sensor. Forexample, the A/V device 210 may detect the presence of an object withina field of view of view of the motion sensor(s) 326 (e.g., a motionsensor field of view) and/or a field of view of the camera 314 (e.g., acamera field of view). To detect motion using the motion sensor(s) 326,the data type (e.g., voltage for PIR sensors) from the output signal ofthe motion sensor(s) 326 may be analyzed, by the processor(s) 310 of theA/V device 210, to determine whether the output signal is indicative ofmotion of an object that should prompt the recording of the image data406 and/or audio data 408 at block B2406 and signal S2408. To detectmotion using the camera 314, the processor(s) 310 of the A/V device 210may analyze the image data 406 by performing, for example, a frame byframe comparison of a change in pixels, to determine whether the imagedata 406 is indicative of motion of an object that should prompt therecording and transmission of image data 406 and/or audio data 408 atblock B2406 and signal S2408.

The process 2400, at block B2406, includes recording video data and/oraudio data. For example, the processor(s) 310 of the A/V device 210 maycause the camera 314 to begin generating the image data 406 and/or themicrophone(s) 328 to being recording the audio data 408.

The process 2400, at signal S2408, includes transmitting the video dataand/or the audio data to a network device 2402. For example, theprocessor(s) 310 of the A/V device 210, using the communicationcomponent 312, may transmit the image data 406 and/or the audio data 408to the network device 2402. In response, the network device 2402 mayreceive, by respective processor(s) and using respective communicationcomponent(s), the image data 406 and/or the audio data 408. In someembodiments, the image data 406 and/or the audio data 408 is transmittedto the hub device 202 and/or the VA device 208, and the hub device 202and/or the VA device 208 may transmit (or forward) the image data 406and/or the audio data 408 to one or more components of the network(s) ofservers/backend devices 220. In either embodiment, the network device2402 may transmit the image data 406 and/or the audio data 408 to aclient device(s) 214, 216. In other embodiments, the image data 406and/or the audio data 408 may be transmitted to the hub device 202and/or the VA device 208, and the hub device 202 and/or the VA device208 may transmit (or forward) the image data 406 and/or the audio data408 to the client device(s) 214, 216. Still, in some embodiments, theimage data 406 and/or the audio data 408 may be transmitted directly tothe client device(s) 214, 216 from the A/V device 210.

The process 2400, at block B2410, includes storing the video data and/orthe audio data. For example, the network device 2402 may store the imagedata 406 and/or the audio data 408. The image data 406 and/or the audiodata 408 may be stored for future access by the user(s) of the A/Vdevice 210 (e.g., as Cloud storage). In some embodiments, the A/V device210 may store the image data 406 and/or the audio data 408 locally(e.g., in the memory 402). In some embodiments, the image data 406and/or the audio data 408 may not be stored, except during buffering,compression, and/or live (or near-live) streaming of the image data 406and/or the audio data 408 to the client device(s) 214, 216. In suchembodiments, at the conclusion of a motion event (e.g., when an objectis no longer in the camera field of view and/or the motion sensor fieldof view), the video data and/or the audio data may be deleted from thenetwork device 2402.

The process 2400, at signal S2412, includes transmitting a notificationto the client device. For example, the network device 2402 may transmit,by the respective processor(s) and using the respective communicationcomponent(s), a notification 416 to the client device(s) 214, 216. Insome embodiments, the notification 416 may be generated and transmitted,by the processor(s) 310 and using the communication component 312,directly to the client device(s) 214, 216 from the A/V device 210. Thenotification 416 may be a notification (e.g., a push notification, amessage, (e.g., a short-message-service (SMS) message), an email, aphone call, a signal, and/or another type of notification. Thenotification 416 may be configured to provide a user of the clientdevice(s) 214, 216 with an indication that an object is present at theA/V device 210. In some embodiments, the notification 416 may beinformative as to the type of motion detected and/or object present atthe A/V device 210. For example, if a person, an animal, a parcel, or avehicle is present, the notification 416 may include an indication ofsuch. As another example, if the person and/or animal detected are knownto be dangerous and/or are acting suspicious (as determined usingcomputer vision processing, image processing, behavioral analysis, thirdparty source(s), etc.), the notification 416 may include an indicationof such.

The process 2400, at signal S2414, includes transmitting an acceptanceor denial of the notification. For example, the client device(s) 214,216 may transmit, by the processor(s) 702 and using the communicationcomponent 710, an acceptance or denial of the notification 416. Invarious embodiments, acceptance of the notification 416 includes anacknowledgement of receipt of the notification 416 from the clientdevice(s) 214, 216. In yet other embodiments, the acceptance includesthe user interacting with (e.g., selecting through a user interface auser interface element of a modal window displayed by a display devicethe client device(s) 214, 216) the notification 416. Furthermore, denialof the notification 416 may include a variety of different actionsand/or information. In one example, a denial includes a failure of theclient device(s) 214, 216 to provide a response to the notification 416within an interval of time. In yet another example, the denial includesthe user interacting with the notification 416 by at least selecting an“ignore” user interface element of a GUI 718 of the client device(s)214, 216. In response, the hub device 202, the VA device 208, and/or oneor more components of the network(s) of servers/backend devices 220 mayreceive, by the respective processors and using the respectivecommunication components, the acceptance or denial of the notification416 from the client device(s) 214, 216.

The process 2400, at block B2416, includes determining whether thenotification was accepted or denied. For example, the network device2402 may determine, by the respective processors, whether thenotification 416 was accepted or denied. In some embodiments, theprocessor(s) 310 of the A/V device 210, using the communicationcomponent 312, may determine whether the notification 416 was acceptedor denied (e.g., in embodiments where the A/V device 210 and the clientdevice(s) 214, 216 communicate directly). When the notification 416 isdenied, the process 2400 may end, or another transmission type of thenotification may be generated (e.g., if a user denies a pushnotification, an SMS message may be transmitted). When the notification416 is accepted, the image data 406 and/or the audio data 408 may betransmitted to the client device(s) 214, 216 that accepted thenotification 416.

The process 2400, at signal S2418, includes transmitting the video dataand/or the audio data to the client device(s) 214, 216. For example,network device 2402, by the respective processor(s) and using therespective communication component(s), may transmit the image data 406and/or the audio data 408 to the client device(s) 214, 216. In response,the client device(s) 214, 216, by the processor(s) 702 and using thecommunication component 710, may receive the image data 406 and/or theaudio data 408. In some embodiments, the image data 406 and/or the audiodata 408 may be transmitted by the processor(s) 310 of the A/V device210, using the communication component 312, directly to the clientdevice(s) 214, 216.

The process 2400, at block B2420, includes displaying the video dataand/or outputs the audio data. For example, the processor(s) of theclient device(s) 214, 216 may cause display, on the display 716 of theclient device(s) 214, 216, the image data 406 and/or may cause output,by the speaker(s) 708 of the client device(s) 214, 216, the audio data408. In addition to displaying the image data 406 and/or outputting theaudio data 408, a GUI 718 may be displayed on the client device(s) 214,216 that may allow a user of the client device(s) 214, 216 to performone more actions. The one or more actions may include outputting asiren, or alarm, by selecting a siren/alarm icon, changing camerasettings (e.g., pan, tilt, zoom, brightness, contrast, etc.) byselecting one or more camera settings icons, activating one or moremodes by selecting a mode activation icon (e.g., for activating a parcelprotection mode for monitoring a package in the camera field of view),arming or disarming a security system by selecting an arm/disarm icon,unlocking a door by selecting a door lock icon, etc. In someembodiments, the GUI 718 may further include a talk icon for initiatinga two-way communication session between the client device(s) 214, 216and the A/V device 210, as described below with respect to block B2422.

The process 2400, at block B2422, includes initiating a two-waycommunication with the A/V device. For example, the processor(s) 702 ofthe client device(s) 214, 216, using the communication component 710,may initiate a two-way communication session with the A/V device 210. Inresponse, the A/V device 210 and/or the network device 2402 may receivethe two-way communication request from the client device(s) 214, 216.Once the two-way communication session is established, the voice/soundinput at the client device(s) 214, 216, as captured by the microphone(s)706 of the client device(s) 214, 216, may be transmitted as audio datato the A/V device 210 for output by the speaker(s) 330. Additionally,the voice/sound input at the A/V device 210, as captured by themicrophone(s) 328 of the A/V device 210, may be transmitted as audiodata 408 to the client device 214, 216 for output by the speaker(s) 708of the client device(s) 214, 216.

FIG. 25 is a signal diagram of a process 2500 for initiating avideo-on-demand session for A/V content from an A/V device 210 accordingto various aspects of the present disclosure. The network device 2502may include one or more of the hub device 202, the VA device 208, and/orany of the components of the network(s) of servers/backend devices 220(e.g., the backend server 224, the backend API 226, the storage devices222, etc.).

The process 2500, at block B2502, includes receiving a live viewrequest. For example, the processor(s) 702 of the client device 214, 216may receive a live view request from a user of the client device 214,216. The live view request may include an input to user interface (e.g.,the display 716, such as within a GUI 718 on the display 716, one ormore physical buttons of the client device 214, 216, etc.).

The process 2500, at signal S2504, includes transmitting a live viewrequest. For example, the live request may be transmitted, by theprocessor(s) 702 and using a communication component 710 of the clientdevice 214, 216, to the network device 2502. In response, network device2502 may receive, by the respective processor(s) and using therespective communication component(s), the live view request. In someembodiments, the live view request may be transmitted directly to theA/V device 210 from the client device 214, 216.

The process 2500, at signal S2506, includes transmitting the liverequest. For example, network device 2502 may transmit (or forward), bythe respective processor(s) and using the respective communicationcomponent(s), the live view request to the A/V device 210. In response,the processor(s) 310 of the A/V device 210, using the communicationcomponent 312, may receive the live view request.

The process 2500, at block B2508, includes capturing video data and/oraudio data. For example, in response to receiving the live view request,the processor(s) 310 of the A/V device 210 may cause the camera 314 torecord the image data 406 and/or the microphone(s) 328 to record theaudio data 408.

The process 2500, at signal S2510, includes transmitting the video dataand/or the audio data. This process may be similar to that of signalS2408 of the process 2400, described above.

The process 2500, at block B2512, includes storing the video data and/orthe audio data. This process may be similar to that of block B2410 ofthe process 2400, described above.

The process 2500, at block S2514, includes transmitting the video dataand/or the audio data to the client device. This process may be similarto that of signal S2418 of the process 2400, described above.

The process 2500, at block B2516, includes displaying the video dataand/or outputs the audio data. This process may be similar to that ofblock B2420 of the process 2400, described above.

The process 2500, at block B2518, includes initiating two-waycommunication with the A/V device 210. This process may be similar tothat of block B2422 of the process 2400, described above.

FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram of a client device 2602 on whichthe present embodiments may be implemented according to various aspectsof the present disclosure. The client device(s) 214, 216 described withreference to FIG. 2 may include some or all of the components and/orfunctionality of the client device 2602. The client device 2602 maycomprise, for example, a smartphone.

With reference to FIG. 26, the client device 2602 includes a processor2604, a memory 2606, a user interface 2608, a communication component2610, and a dataport 2612. These components are communicatively coupledtogether by an interconnect bus 2614. The processor 2604 may include anyprocessor used in smartphones and/or portable computing devices, such asan ARM processor (a processor based on the RISC (reduced instruction setcomputer) architecture developed by Advanced RISC Machines (ARM).). Insome embodiments, the processor 2604 may include one or more otherprocessors, such as one or more conventional microprocessors, and/or oneor more supplementary co-processors, such as math co-processors.

The memory 2606 may include both operating memory, such as random-accessmemory (RAM), as well as data storage, such as read-only memory (ROM),hard drives, flash memory, or any other suitable memory/storage element.The memory 2606 may include removable memory elements, such as aCompactFlash card, a MultiMediaCard (MMC), and/or a Secure Digital (SD)card. In some embodiments, the memory 2606 may comprise a combination ofmagnetic, optical, and/or semiconductor memory, and may include, forexample, RAM, ROM, flash drive, and/or a hard disk or drive. Theprocessor 2604 and the memory 2606 each may be, for example, locatedentirely within a single device, or may be connected to each other by acommunication medium, such as a USB port, a serial port cable, a coaxialcable, an Ethernet-type cable, a telephone line, a radio frequencytransceiver, or other similar wireless or wired medium or combination ofthe foregoing. For example, the processor 2604 may be connected to thememory 2606 via the dataport 2612.

The user interface 2608 may include any user interface or presentationelements suitable for a smartphone and/or a portable computing device,such as a keypad, a display screen, a touchscreen, a microphone, and aspeaker. The communication component 2610 is configured to handlecommunication links between the client device 2602 and other, externaldevices or receivers, and to route incoming/outgoing data appropriately.For example, inbound data from the dataport 2612 may be routed throughthe communication component 2610 before being directed to the processor2604, and outbound data from the processor 2604 may be routed throughthe communication component 2610 before being directed to the dataport2612. The communication component 2610 may include one or moretransceiver modules capable of transmitting and receiving data, andusing, for example, one or more protocols and/or technologies, such asGSM, UMTS (3GSM), IS-95 (CDMA one), IS-2000 (CDMA 2000), LTE, FDMA,TDMA, W-CDMA, CDMA, OFDMA, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, or any other protocol and/ortechnology.

The dataport 2612 may be any type of connector used for physicallyinterfacing with a smartphone and/or a portable computing device, suchas a mini-USB port or an IPHONE®/IPOD® 30-pin connector or LIGHTNING®connector. In other embodiments, the dataport 2612 may include multiplecommunication channels for simultaneous communication with, for example,other processors, servers, and/or client terminals.

The memory 2606 may store instructions for communicating with othersystems, such as a computer. The memory 2606 may store, for example, aprogram (e.g., computer program code) adapted to direct the processor2604 in accordance with the present embodiments. The instructions alsomay include program elements, such as an operating system. Whileexecution of sequences of instructions in the program causes theprocessor 2604 to perform the process steps described herein, hard-wiredcircuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with,software/firmware instructions for implementation of the processes ofthe present embodiments. Thus, the present embodiments are not limitedto any specific combination of hardware and software.

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure. The computer system 2702 maybe embodied in at least one of a personal computer (also referred to asa desktop computer) 2704, a portable computer (also referred to as alaptop or notebook computer) 2706, and/or a server 2708 is a computerprogram and/or a machine that waits for requests from other machines orsoftware (clients) and responds to them. A server typically processesdata. The purpose of a server is to share data and/or hardware and/orsoftware resources among clients. This architecture is called theclient-server model. The clients may run on the same computer or mayconnect to the server over a network. Examples of computing serversinclude database servers, file servers, mail servers, print servers, webservers, game servers, and application servers. The term server may beconstrued broadly to include any computerized process that shares aresource to one or more client processes.

The computer system 2702 may execute at least some of the operationsdescribed above. The computer system 2702 may include at least oneprocessor 2710, memory 2712, at least one storage device 2714, andinput/output (I/O) devices 2716. Some or all of the components 2710, 2712, 2714, 2716 may be interconnected via a system bus 2718. Theprocessor 2710 may be single- or multi-threaded and may have one or morecores. The processor 2710 execute instructions, such as those stored inthe memory 2712 and/or in the storage device 2714. Information may bereceived and output using one or more I/O devices 2716.

The memory 2712 may store information, and may be a computer-readablemedium, such as volatile or non-volatile memory. The storage device(s)2714 may provide storage for the system 2702 and, in some embodiments,may be a computer-readable medium. In various aspects, the storagedevice(s) 2714 may be a flash memory device, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, a tape device, or any other type of storage device.

The I/O devices 2716 may provide input/output operations for the system2702. The I/O devices 2716 may include a keyboard, a pointing device,and/or a microphone. The I/O devices 2716 may further include a displayunit for displaying graphical user interfaces, a speaker, and/or aprinter. External data may be stored in one or more accessible externaldatabases 2720.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, and/or in computerhardware, firmware, software, and/or in combinations thereof. Featuresof the present embodiments may be implemented in a computer programproduct tangibly embodied in an information carrier, such as amachine-readable storage device, and/or in a propagated signal, forexecution by a programmable processor. Embodiments of the present methodsteps may be performed by a programmable processor executing a programof instructions to perform functions of the described implementations byoperating on input data and generating output.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in one or more computer programs that are executable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processorcoupled to receive data and/or instructions from, and to transmit dataand/or instructions to, a data storage system, at least one inputdevice, and at least one output device. A computer program may include aset of instructions that may be used, directly or indirectly, in acomputer to perform a certain activity or bring about a certain result.A computer program may be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, and it may be deployed inany form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructions mayinclude, for example, both general and special purpose processors,and/or the sole processor or one of multiple processors of any kind ofcomputer. Generally, a processor may receive instructions and/or datafrom a read only memory (ROM), or a random-access memory (RAM), or both.Such a computer may include a processor for executing instructions andone or more memories for storing instructions and/or data.

Generally, a computer may also include, or be operatively coupled tocommunicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing datafiles. Such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disksand/or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and/or optical disks.Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer programinstructions and/or data may include all forms of non-volatile memory,including for example semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal harddisks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory may be supplemented by, orincorporated in, one or more ASICs (application-specific integratedcircuits).

To provide for interaction with a user, the features of the presentembodiments may be implemented on a computer having a display device,such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displayinginformation to the user. The computer may further include a keyboard, apointing device, such as a mouse or a trackball, and/or a touchscreen bywhich the user may provide input to the computer.

The features of the present embodiments may be implemented in a computersystem that includes a back-end component, such as a data server, and/orthat includes a middleware component, such as an application server oran Internet server, and/or that includes a front-end component, such asa client computer having a graphical user interface (GUI) and/or anInternet browser, or any combination of these. The components of thesystem may be connected by any form or medium of digital datacommunication, such as a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks may include, for example, a LAN (local areanetwork), a WAN (wide area network), and/or the computers and networksforming the Internet.

The computer system may include clients and servers. A client and servermay be remote from each other and interact through a network, such asthose described herein. The relationship of client and server may ariseby virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers andhaving a client-server relationship to each other.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating a process 2800 for installing an A/Vdevice on a barrier (e.g., a door) according to various embodiments ofthe present disclosure. In examples, the process 2800 may be performedby a user. For ease of illustration, the process 2800 will be discussedin the context of the example A/V device 210 discussed herein.

Prior to block B2802, the first end 704 (FIG. 7A) of the viewer 346 maybe connected to the first component 422, the flexible connector 426 maybe attached to the connector holder 1904 (FIG. 19E), and the connectorholder 1904 may be disposed within the opening 347(A) of the passage 708of the viewer 346 (FIG. 19K). In some embodiments, at least one of theforegoing steps may be an aspect of the process 2800, while in otherembodiments these steps may be precursors to the process 2800, but notpart of the process 2800 itself.

The process 2800, at block B2802, includes inserting the viewer into anopening in the barrier. For example, the viewer 346, which includes theconnector holder 1904 disposed within the opening 347(A) of the viewer346, may be inserted into an opening in a barrier. The barrier may be adoor, and the viewer 346 may be inserted into the opening in the doorfrom the outside, such that the first component 422 is disposed adjacentthe outside surface of the door. In examples, the flexible connector 426extends along the flat portion 752 of the tubular member 347, outside ofthe viewer 346.

The process 2800, at block B2804, includes removing (e.g., withdrawing)the connector holder from a passage of the viewer. For example, theconnector holder 1904 may be pulled out from the opening 347(A) of theviewer 346.

The process 2800, at block B2806, includes attaching the viewer to thesecond component. For example, the second part 744 (FIG. 7B) of theviewer 346 may be inserted into the second opening 730 in the secondcomponent 424, and the fastener 428 may be attached to the second part744 of the viewer 346 and tightened. Tightening the fastener 428 on thesecond part 744 of the viewer 346 brings the second component 424 andthe first component 422 closer together, sandwiching the barrier inbetween and bringing the first and second components 422, 424 into closeabutment with their respective sides of the barrier. Tightening thefastener 428 on the second part 744 of the viewer 346 also compressesthe first gasket 756 between the first component 422 and the outersurface of the barrier, and compresses the second gasket 754 between thesecond component 424 and the inner surface of the barrier. The gaskets754, 756, which may comprise a high-friction material, may resistmovement of the first and second components 422, 424 relative to thebarrier. The gaskets 754, 756, and particularly the ribbed portions754(A), 756(A), 756(B) of the gaskets 754, 756 (FIGS. 18A-18B), mayfurther provide moisture sealing for the space between the firstcomponent 422 and the barrier and the space between the second component424 and the barrier.

The process 2800, at block B2808, includes connecting the connectorholder to the second component. For example, the second coupler 738(FIG. 19E) housed within the connector holder 1904 may be connected tothe second connection port 740 (FIG. 19I) located in the first end1908(A) of the channel 1908. Connecting the second coupler 738 to thesecond connection port 740 electrically and communicatively couples thefirst component 422 to the second component 424.

The process 2800, at block B2810, includes extending the flexibleconnector and/or securing the flexible connector to the secondcomponent. For example, the tab 1906 of the flexible connector 426 maypulled downward to tighten up excess length in the flexible connector426, and the tab 1906 may then be seated within the channel 1908 tosecure the flexible connector 426 to the second component 424. Inexamples, the flexible connector 426 includes the tab 1906 slidablydisposed along its length.

As used herein, the phrases “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least oneof A, B, or C,” and “A, B, and/or C” are synonymous and mean logical“OR” in the computer science sense. Thus, each of the foregoing phrasesshould be understood to read on (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (Band C), and (A and B and C), where A, B, and C are variablesrepresenting elements or features of the claim. Also, while theseexamples are described with three variables (A, B, C) for ease ofunderstanding, the same interpretation applies to similar phrases inthese formats with any number of two or more variables.

The above description presents the best mode contemplated for carryingout the present embodiments, and of the manner and process of practicingthem, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable anyperson skilled in the art to which they pertain to practice theseembodiments. The present embodiments are, however, susceptible tomodifications and alternate constructions from those discussed abovethat are fully equivalent. Consequently, the present disclosure is notlimited to the particular embodiments disclosed. On the contrary, thepresent disclosure covers all modifications and alternate constructionscoming within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the steps in the processes described herein need not beperformed in the same order as they have been presented, and may beperformed in any order(s). Further, steps that have been presented asbeing performed separately may in alternative embodiments be performedconcurrently. Likewise, steps that have been presented as beingperformed concurrently may in alternative embodiments be performedseparately.

EXAMPLE CLAUSES

A. An audio/video (A/V) recording and communication device (A/V device)comprising: a viewer having an elongated tubular shape, a first end, asecond end, and a passage extending between the first end and the secondend; a first component coupled to the first end of the viewer, the firstcomponent comprising: a button; a camera; one or more processors; andmemory communicatively coupled to the one or more processors; a secondcomponent coupled to the second end of the viewer, the second componentcomprising: a battery; and a wireless transceiver; and a flexibleconnector extending along an outside of the viewer and electricallycoupling the first component and the second component to one another;wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed bythe one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to performoperations comprising: receiving, using the button, an input;generating, using the camera, image data representative of a field ofview of the camera; and sending, using the wireless transceiver, theimage data to a network device.

B. The A/V device of example A, wherein the flexible connector comprisesa flex printed circuit board.

C. The A/V device of example A or B, further comprising: a connectorholder attached to the flexible connector and removably securable withina first end of a channel within the second component; and a tabremovably securable within a second end of the channel.

D. The A/V device of any of examples A through C, wherein the channelincludes a ledge and an undercut, and the tab has at least one detent toseat within the undercut beneath the ledge.

E. The A/V device of any of examples A through D, wherein the tabengages the channel in a friction fit.

F. The A/V device of any of examples A through E, wherein a service loopof the flexible connector is retained within the channel when the tab isseated within the second end of the channel, a length of the channelaccommodating a length of the service loop when the flexible connectoris extended in an installed state.

G. The A/V device of any of examples A through F, wherein the connectorholder is received within the passage of the viewer.

H. The A/V device of any of examples A through G, wherein: the flexibleconnector includes a coupler attached to the first portion of theconnector holder; and the second component includes a connection port toconnect to the coupler.

I. An audio/video (A/V) recording and communication device (A/V device)comprising: a viewer having an elongated tubular shape, a first end, asecond end, and a passage extending between the first end and the secondend; a first component coupled to the first end of the viewer, the firstcomponent comprising: a button; and a camera; a second component coupledto the second end of the viewer, the second component comprising: abattery; and a wireless transceiver; a flexible connector electricallycoupling the first component and the second component to one another;one or more processors; and memory communicatively coupled to the one ormore processors and storing executable instructions that, when executedby the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors toperform operations comprising: receiving, using the button, an input;generating, using the camera, image data representative of a field ofview of the camera; and sending, using the wireless transceiver, theimage data to a network device.

J. The A/V device of example I, wherein: a cross-sectional shape of theviewer includes a rounded portion and a flat portion; and the flexibleconnector extends along an outside of the viewer adjacent to the flatportion.

K. The A/V device of example I or J, wherein the second componentfurther comprises: a beam splitter for splitting light received from afirst lens of the viewer into a first beam of light and a second beam oflight; an image sensor aligned to receive the first beam of light; and asecond lens aligned to receive the second beam of light.

L. The A/V device of any of examples I through K, further comprising: afirst lens disposed in the passage of the viewer; and a second lensattached to the first end of the viewer.

M. The A/V device of any of examples I through L, further comprising: aconnector holder attached to the flexible connector and removablysecurable within a first end of a channel within the second component;and a tab removably securable within a second end of the channel.

N. The A/V device of any of examples I through M, wherein the channelincludes a ledge and an undercut, and the tab has at least one detent toseat within the undercut beneath the ledge.

O. The A/V device of any of examples of I through N, wherein the tabengages the channel in a friction fit.

P. The A/V device of any of examples I through O, wherein a service loopof the flexible connector is retained within the channel when the tab isseated within the second end of the channel, a length of the channelaccommodating a length of the service loop when the flexible connectoris extended in an installed state.

Q. A method of mounting an audio/video (A/V) recording and communicationdevice (A/V device) on a barrier, the A/V device including a firstcomponent, a second component, a viewer, and a flexible connectorcoupled to the first component and extending along an outside of theviewer, the method comprising: inserting a viewer of the A/V device intoan opening in the barrier, the viewer having an elongated tubular shape,a first end, a second end, and a passage extending between the first endand the second end, a connector holder of the flexible connector beingdisposed within the passage; withdrawing the connector holder of theflexible connector from the passage; inserting the second end of theviewer into an opening in the second component of the A/V device;attaching the viewer to the second component; and connecting theconnector holder to the second component.

R. The method of examples Q, wherein: the connector holder houses acoupler of the flexible connector; the second component comprises aconnection port; and connecting the connector holder to the secondcomponent comprises connecting the coupler to the connection port.

S. The method of example Q or R, wherein the flexible connector includesa tab slidably disposed along its length.

T. The method of any of examples Q through S, further comprising: afterconnecting the coupler to the connection port, pulling the tab downwardto remove slack from the flexible connector; and securing the tab withina channel of the second component.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a viewer havingan elongated tubular shape, a first end, a second end, and a passageextending between the first end and the second end; a first componentcoupled to the first end of the viewer, the first component comprising:a first opening that substantially aligns with the passage of theviewer; and a camera located outside the first opening; and a secondcomponent coupled to the second end of the viewer, the second componentcomprising a second opening extending through the second component, thesecond opening substantially aligning with the passage of the viewer. 2.The electronic device as recited in claim 1, further comprising aconnector extending along an outside of the viewer, the connectorelectronically coupling the first component to the second component. 3.The electronic device as recited in claim 2, wherein a cross-sectionalshape of the viewer includes a rounded portion and a flat portion, andwherein the connector extends along the outside of the viewer adjacentto the flat portion.
 4. The electronic device as recited in claim 1,further comprising: one or more processors; and one or morecomputer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the electronic device to performoperations comprising: detecting possible motion of an object; afterdetecting the possible motion, generating image data using the camera;and sending the image data to one or more computing devices.
 5. Theelectronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the first componentfurther comprises a motion sensor.
 6. The electronic device as recitedin claim 1, wherein the first component further comprises a button. 7.The electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the first componentfurther comprises at least one microphone.
 8. The electronic device asrecited in claim 1, wherein the first component further comprises atleast one speaker.
 9. The electronic device as recited in claim 1,wherein the first component further comprises: at least one lightemitting component; and a light sensor.
 10. The electronic device asrecited in claim 1, wherein at least one of: the first component furthercomprises a first battery; or the second component further comprises asecond battery.
 11. The electronic device as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: a first fastener connecting the first end of the viewer tothe first component; and a second fastener connecting the second end ofthe viewer to the second component.
 12. The electronic device as recitedin claim 1, wherein: the camera includes a first lens; and theelectronic device further comprises a second lens disposed within thepassage of the viewer.
 13. The electronic device as recited in claim 1,wherein: the camera includes a first lens; and the electronic devicefurther comprises a second lens attached at the first end of the viewer.14. An electronic device comprising: a viewer having an elongated shape,a first end of the viewer, a second end of the viewer, and a passageextending between the first end of the viewer and the second end of theviewer; a first component coupled to the first end of the viewer; asecond component coupled to the second end of the viewer, the secondcomponent comprising: an opening located proximate to the second end ofthe viewer; and a camera that is substantially vertically aligned withthe opening.
 15. The electronic device as recited in claim 14, whereinthe second component further comprises a button that is substantiallyvertically aligned with the opening.
 16. The electronic device asrecited in claim
 15. wherein: the second component further comprises: afirst end of the second component; and a second end of the secondcomponent, the second end of the second component being opposite to thefirst end of the second component; the camera is located farther fromthe first end of the second component than the opening; and the buttonis located farther from the first end of the second component than theopening.
 17. The electronic device as recited in claim
 15. wherein: thesecond component further comprises: a first end of the second component;and a second end of the second component, the second end of the secondcomponent being opposite to the first end of the second component; thecamera is located farther from the first end of the second componentthan the opening; and the button is located farther from the first endof the second component than the camera.
 18. The electronic device asrecited in claim 14, further comprising: a connector extending along anoutside of the viewer, the connector electronically coupling the firstcomponent to the second component, wherein a cross-sectional shape ofthe viewer includes a rounded portion and a flat portion, and whereinthe connector extends along the outside of the viewer adjacent to theflat portion.
 19. A method of mounting an electronic device on abarrier, the method comprising: inserting a viewer of the electronicdevice into an opening in the barrier, the viewer having an elongatedtubular shape, a first end, a second end, and a passage extendingbetween the first end and the second end; attaching a first component tothe first end of the viewer, the first component comprising a firstopening that substantially aligns with the passage of the viewer; andattaching a second component to the second end of the viewer, the secondcomponent comprising: a second opening that substantially aligns withthe passage of the viewer; and a camera located outside the secondopening.
 20. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising:inserting the first end of the viewer into at least a portion of thefirst opening; and inserting the second end of the viewer into at leasta portion of the second opening.